News in Brief
IGAD Council of Ministers’ endorses a 100-day Extension for South Sudan government
The Mayor of Washington DC visits Addis Ababa
The Czech Foreign Minister visits Ethiopia and attends a Business Forum
The first Ethiopia and United Arab Emirates’ Political Consultation
The 18th Nordic and African Foreign Ministers Joint Forum
New opportunities for encouraging regional integration in Eastern Africa
The 40th Session of UNESCO General Conference opens in Paris.
Ethiopia participates in Mumbai’s World Trade Expo 2019
Africa and the African Union
The 18th Africa-Nordic Joint Ministerial meeting was held last week (November 7-8) in Dar es Salaam, under the theme “African-Nordic Partnership in Addressing the Climate Challenge and the SDGs.” Ethiopia was represented by State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Aklilu Hailemichael. (See article)
“Leveraging New Opportunities for Regional Integration in Eastern Africa” was the theme of the three-day 23rdmeeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts for Eastern Africa (ICSOE) organized by the Economic Commission for Africa and held in Asmara last week. Delegations from Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia and Tanzania attended as well as representatives from other interested bodies around the region. (See article)
The 25th anniversary of the International Conference on Population and Development was held on Tuesday (November 12) in Nairobi. The conference brought together representatives from the signatories to the treaty signed by 179 countries in Cairo in 1994, adopting a landmark Program of Action aiming to empower women and girls. The conference, co-hosted by Kenya, Denmark and the United National Population Fund highlighted the power of gender equality, youth leadership, political and community leadership, innovation and data, and partnerships to accelerate progress.
Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu formally assumed duty as Executive Secretary of IGAD on Thursday last week (November 7) in the presence of former Executive Secretary, Ambassador Mahboub Maalim, and the Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti and Chairperson of the IGAD Committee of Ambassadors, Ambassador Abdulaziz Mohammed. Dr. Workneh, former Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, commended Ambassador Mahboub Maalim for his achievements as chief of the IGAD Secretariat.
The IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre announced on Monday (November 11) that higher than usual rains are expected to continue throughout November and December. It said the Indian Ocean Dipole was in one of its strongest positive states since 2006 and this meant warm moist air flows would increase the likelihood of higher rainfall over East African countries. The ICPAC said while this meant increased heavy rains and flooding, it could also mean “positive prospects for increased crop yields for major cereals in the equatorial and southern agricultural areas of the region as well as improvement in pasture, range and water resources for livestock.” In northern parts of the region, however, increased rainfall posed the risk of interrupting crop maturation and harvesting with flooding possibly increasing the risk of crop fungal and bacterial disease outbreaks and livestock diseases.
A ten-day conflict management course organized by the Government of Japan in partnership with Ethiopia’s Peace Support Training Institute and UNDP started in Addis Ababa on Monday (November 11).Participants drawn from 12 African countries are attending. Japan’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Ambassador Daisuke Matsunaga said the course would improve the peace and security situation in Africa; modern peacekeepers must do more than just ceasefire monitoring.
Ethiopia
President Sahle-Work Zewde held talks with heads of three different global organizations on Tuesday (November 12). The President received Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and held talks with Reeta Roy CEO of the Canada-based Mastercard Foundation which recently put $300 million towards support for the initiative of creating 10 million jobs in Ethiopia in the coming 10 years. The President also met with members of the leadership team of Cisco, a multinational technology company which has expressed interest in working and investing in Ethiopia.
President Sahle-Work Zewde conferred with Foreign Minister of Czech Republic Tomáš Petříček on Thursday (November 14) at the National Palace. The President stressed on the need to enhance bilateral ties through strengthening the 2018-2023 cooperation agreement signed between Ethiopia and Czech Republic. She said their long standing relations offered a spring board to scale up existing bilateral relations in education, health, agriculture and water supply projects.
President Sahle-Work met with members of the UN Peace Building Commission at the National Palace on Tuesday (November 12). The Peace Building Commission which is composed of representatives of 31 Member States, elected from the General Assembly, the Security Council, and the Economic and Social Council, said the reforms taking place in Ethiopia had made the country a beacon of hope and stressed the importance of taking into consideration national objectives in the peace building process. The President highlighted the importance of building on local practices and know-how in developing peace building initiatives.
President Sahle-Work received a leadership team from the University of British Colombia on Monday (November 11). She had visited the university in June during her visit to Canada for the Women Deliver Conference. The team expressed their desire to work and create links between universities in Canada and Ethiopia.
Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed met with Melinda Gates, co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Monday (November 11) to discuss enhancing the Foundation’s support for the Government’s key priority areas. The Foundation has been supporting improvements to agricultural productivity and increased coverage of health interventions for several years.
Prime Minister Dr. Abiy met on Friday (November 8) with the outgoing Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Ambassador Engineer Mahboub Maalim as well as the incoming Executive Secretary Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu. Prime Minister Abiy appreciated Ambassador Maalim’s dedication and contribution to the regional organization and the efforts made through IGAD to stabilize the region.
Prime Minister Dr Abiy convened a meeting with leaders of competing political parties operating in the Oromia and Amhara regional states on Saturday (November 14). The meeting followed disturbances leading to the loss of lives and destruction of property in both regions. It aimed to facilitate dialogue among political parties in the regions and develop a common agenda for service to the needs and aspirations of the people. The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of engaging in politics without causing harm to citizens and called upon leaders of the political parties to play their role in stabilizing and bringing peace to the respective regions.
The Foreign Affairs Minister of the Czech Republic, Tomáš Petříček, made an official working visit to Ethiopia this week accompanied by a business delegation. Mr. Petříček held talks with Foreign Affairs Minister, Gedu Andargachew and also attended the Ethio-Czech Business Forum. (See article)
The first Ethiopia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Political Consultation was held in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday last week (November 6). The Ethiopian delegation was led by State Minister, Mrs. Hirut Zemene. (See article)
The Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy announced on Wednesday (November 13) that the construction of saddle dam of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) has been completed. The completion of the 50m high and 5.2km long concrete-faced rockfill dam is an important milestone for the project, said Dr. Seleshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy. The construction of the GERD project has now reached over 68 % completion.
Deputy Mayor of Addis Ababa, Engineer Takele Uma and the Mayor of Washington DC, Muriel Bowser on a five-day visit to Ethiopia renewed the Addis Ababa-Washington sister agreement on Monday (November 11).They agreed to work together in economic, health, business, technology, innovation, cultural exchange, and green development sectors. During her visit to Ethiopia, Mayor Bowser held talks with President Sahle-Work, Prime Minister Dr. Abiy, Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges and other officials. (See article)
Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE’s Minister of Economy, metMs. Fetlework Gebre-Egziabher, Minister of Trade and Industry, on Friday (November 8). The two ministers reviewed paths for accelerating trade exchanges in agriculture, livestock and poultry as well as logistics. Ms. Fetlework emphasized the significance of Ethiopia’s participation in EXPO 2020 Dubai to expand prospects for bilateral trade exchanges with participating countries.
State Minister Mrs. Hirut Zemene met the Ambassador of France to Ethiopia, Ambassador Frédéric Bontems on Tuesday (November 12). Ambassador Bontems, who noted scientists and conservation architects were carrying out field research on the Lalibela Rock-churches, said the reconstruction and restoration work would be completed as scheduled. Mrs. Hirut commended the Lalibela project. She briefed the Ambassador on the recent joint statement by Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, explaining Ethiopia’s stance on the filling and operational procedures. Ambassador Bontems emphasized the importance of professional consultations by technical experts of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt.
The two-day World Trade Expo (WTE) 2019 in Mumbai opened on Wednesday this week (November 13). Featuring an exhibition, business-to-business meetings and country presentations, the Expo provided a platform for representatives from 30 countries, including Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, South Africa, and Uganda from Africa. (See article)
The Council of Ministers in its meeting on Saturday (November 9) referred a new Computer Crime Proclamation bill, aiming to prevent hate speech and dissemination of fake news, to the House of Peoples Representatives for approval. It said this was necessary as existing laws were insufficient to address problems arising from hate speeches and fake news.
Speaker of the House of People’s Representatives of Ethiopia, Tagesse Chaffo, received a delegation led by Mohammed Mursal, Speaker of the Somali Parliament on Tuesday (November 12).Mr. Tagesse said Ethiopia is keen to share its experience to Somalia in political, economic and other sectors. Speaker Mursal asked the Ethiopian government to provide capacity building support to the Somalia parliament.
“Ethiopia Day” was colorfully celebrated at Peking University on Tuesday (November12) in an event organized by Ethiopian Embassy in Beijing and Peking University. Various research papers from Chinese Universities were presented at a seminar on Ethio-China relations, Ethiopian politics, culture and history. Ambassador Teshome Toga also met and held talks with Mr. Tian Gang, Vice President of Peking University and discussed options to create linkages between Peking University and universities in Ethiopia.
Ambassador Hassen Taju presented his credentials to President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania at the weekend. During his visit to Nouakchott, Ambassador Hassan, who is resident in Dakar, Senegal, held talks on strengthening bilateral relations in tourism, culture and politics as well as discussed investment and trade options with government officials and Mauritanian business persons.
A UN statement issued last week (November 8) said the Ethiopian government has called for “immediate action” to deal with locust swarm affecting areas of Tigray, Amhara, Oromia and Somali Regional States. The FAO said: “We need to act fast and mobilize the required resources urgently to scale up control and preventive measures,” It said if additional control measures failed, swarms could continue spreading within Ethiopia and also threaten north-eastern Kenya, parts of Eritrea, and Sudan’s southern coast.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) launched a five-year 11 million USD land governance activity project in Ethiopia on Tuesday (November 12). The new project aimed at facilitating policy reforms to strengthen land administration, promote structural reform for rural and urban land tenure and strengthen institutional capabilities to improve land administration and land-use planning.
Eritrea
Foreign Minister of Eritrea, Osman Saleh met with Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al- Hamad Al-Sabah and other senior Government officials in Kuwait on Sunday (November 10). The two sides discussed bilateral ties, regional developments and other issues of mutual importance.
Kenya
President Uhuru Kenyatta met with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi on the side-lines of the International Conference on Population and Development in Nairobi on Thursday (November 14). At a joint press conference after their discussion, President Abdullahi acknowledged the role of the Kenyan government in providing peace and security in Somalia, in fighting against terrorism and in AMISOM. He said they had developed close ties and positive relations based on mutual respect and equal footing. President Abdullahi, who thanked President Kenyatta for the cordial reception accorded to the Somali delegation, also said the maritime issue would not affect their bilateral relationship. President Kenyatta announced the resumption of direct Mogadishu-Nairobi flights and said: “We have agreed to bring normality to our relations. We must do everything we can to ensure our people live happily and peacefully. With immediate effect, Somalis traveling will be able to obtain their visas when they arrive.
Somalia
President Mohamed Abdullahi met with President Museveni on the side-line of the International Conference on Population and Development in Nairobi on Wednesday (November 13) to discuss strengthening existing bilateral cooperation and other strategic issues. Uganda with more than 6,200 troops in AMISOM is the largest contributor of troops. President Abdullahi said it was “a pleasure indeed to engage with President Museveni, a great friend of Somalia with whom we deliberated on strategic bilateral and regional matters.”
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre attended the annual Paris Peace Forum this week (November 11-13) where he challenged donors to channel their support to Somalia through the Federal government. He said any investment to Somalia largely went through non-state actors, and assistance “that doesn’t provide legitimacy to the government, will never be sufficient and is going to be temporary.” He called for new approaches to support poor countries and those emerging from conflict like Somalia.
Prime Minister Khayre had bilateral talks with French President, Emmanuel Macron and discussed potential areas of mutual cooperation and debt relief efforts. He also held talks with Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov on the side-lines of the Paris Peace Forum on Tuesday (November 12) to discuss the state of peace and security in Somalia and the efforts of the international community in Somalia’s recovery process.
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaiyre met with EU High Level Representative, Ms. Federica Mogherini in Brussels this week. They discussed bilateral relations between the EU and Somalia, as well as the security, political and economic situation in Somalia and peace and democracy. Ms. Mogherini assured Prime Minister Khayre of the EU’s continued support and cooperation to help the Somali government reclaim peace and security and strengthen the country’s institutions.
Somalia and the UNDP signed a $10 million climate adaptation investment project on Tuesday (November12), to help rural communities secure access to diminishing water supplies. The project will focus on sustainable water management, expanded drought, and flood early-warning systems for more than 360,000 farmers. It will also establish Somalia’s first National Hydro-Meteorological and Monitoring Service, install automatic weather stations and monitoring equipment across the country to expand flood and drought forecasting and early warning.
The AU Commission and Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) to AMISOM held a consultative meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on Friday last week (November 8). Chaired by AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ambassador Smail Chergui, the Head of AMISOM, Ambassador Francesco Madeira, and the Chiefs of Defense Forces of AMISOM Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) – Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda – discussed progress in the implementation of the Somali Transition Plan, the strategic issues influencing the effectiveness of AMISOM operations and the need to enhance intelligence acquisition capability as well as other issues. They agreed to hold internal consultations every three months.
The Somali NGO Consortium said at the end of last week that over half a million people have been affected by floods and an estimated 370,000 people have fled homes submerged in floodwater. It said as many as 6.3 million people faced food insecurity. Director Nasra Ismail said: “The crises occurring within Somalia’s borders are a global responsibility. Climatic shocks are not a local phenomenon but a manifestation of the growing environmental emergency.” He said: “The responsibility to take immediate action to mitigate disaster risks and meet immediate needs, in line with international instruments like the Paris Agreement, falls on all nations.” Immediate and long-term needs across the country must be seen as part of the global climate crisis and responded to urgently.
UNOCHA said on Thursday that a combined $18.7 million has been released from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF) to scale up life-saving assistance to just over half a million people affected by floods in Somalia.
South Sudan
IGAD Council of Ministers meeting in Addis Ababa on Sunday (November 10) endorsed the decision of last week’s Entebbe meeting to extend the pre-transitional period in South Sudan by 100 days to enable critical pending pre-transitional tasks to be completed. IGAD also held a Ministerial Consultative meeting with the South Sudan parties on Saturday (November 9). (See article)
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has welcomed the decision of the IGAD Council of Ministers to extend the pre-transitional period in South Sudan for an additional 100 days. Speaking on Monday (November 11) the Secretary-General urged the parties to use this extension to make further progress on critical benchmarks, including security arrangements and the number and boundaries of states, to allow for the formation of an “inclusive” government of national unity.
The UN’s Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan said on Friday last week (November 8) that the UN needed $61.5 million to save lives and help the over 900,000 people affected by three months of unprecedented rainfall and devastating floods that had “devastated one-third of all counties in the country”.
Sudan
The European Commission announced €55 million aid for Sudan on Monday (November 11) to support vulnerable people caught in humanitarian crises. The announcement came at the end of a meeting between Prime Minister Hamdok with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels. Federica Mogherini, EU High-level Representative, said the EU strongly supported the encouraging transition in Sudan, politically and economically.
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IGAD Council of Ministers’ endorses a 100-day extension for South Sudan government
IGAD Council of Ministers held two meetings last weekend, an Extraordinary Council session and a Ministerial Consultative meeting with the South Sudanese parties. These followed a Summit at Entebbe on Thursday (November 7) where President Salve Kiir and SPLM-IO leader, Dr, Riek Machar met President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and General al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council, and agreed to extend the transitional period before the creation of a Transitional Government of National Unity for one hundred days. They also accepted that progress should be reviewed after 50 days and a report submitted to the Heads of State and Government and the parties; and that that the guarantors and the parties should establish a mechanism to supervise the implementation of the creation of a national army.
IGAD held a Ministerial Consultation meeting with the South Sudanese parties on Saturday (November 9) to discuss the status of the implementation of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS) and the way forward. It was opened by Ethiopia’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Hirut Zemene, who welcomed the fact that cantonment of troops had started and the African Union, Ethiopia, South Sudan, China and Japan had kept promises to provide materials for these. The parties reviewed reports from the agreement mechanisms consisting of the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC), National Pre-Transitional Committee (NPTC), the Ceasefire & Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring & Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM), National Constitutional Amendment Committee (NCAC), Joint Defence Board (JDB), Strategic Defence and Security Review Board (SDSR-B), Joint Military Ceasefire Commission (JMCC). They emphasized the need to develop a clear road map and an implementation timeline to complete the pending tasks within the 100-day time frame and also urged government and opposition forces to immediately vacate all the remaining civilian centers and populated areas.
The IGAD Council of Ministers then held its Extra-Ordinary Session on Sunday (November 10), a session at which it welcomed the results of the Summit in Entebbe and the Ministerial Consultative Meeting the previous day. Opening the session, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew, Chair of the Council, noted since the last IGAD Consultative Ministerial meeting in August, reports by the monitoring and evaluation mechanisms showed the Permanent Ceasefire was still holding, and aid agencies were successfully providing humanitarian assistance without hindrance. The necessary unified forces had not, however, been established, the incumbent TGoNU had not provided the balance of the fund it pledged for implementation of Pre-Transitional Period activities; and forces in some cantonment sites were complaining of shortages of food and medicines. The Minister said he hoped the South Sudanese parties understood that unless they made sure the governance and security system that leads to the formation of the Transitional Government was met urgently, peace could be seriously endangered. It was clear that time-bound and dedicated implementation was the only way to get to the transition.
The Council endorsed the Entebbe Agreement to extend the Pre-Transitional Period for one hundred days, effective from November 12; and it also called on the guarantors and the Parties to urgently operationalize the new Mechanism agreed at Entebbe, emphasizing it should work closely and coordinate with the existing mechanisms, the NPTC, IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan, R-JMEC and CTSAMVM. The purpose of the new committee is to oversee the quick implementation of the complicated process of the reunification of the South Sudanese army to avoid any delay and power struggle between the different organs and committees.
The Council also underscored that the pending pre-transitional tasks particularly the Transitional Security Arrangements and agreement on the number and boundaries of states was crucial for the formation of the transitional government. It called on the government to immediately disburse the balance of the USD 100 million to the National Pre-Transitional Period Committee (NPTC) to enable the completion of these tasks. It urged all government and opposition forces to go to their barracks and cantonment sites, and called on the government to urgently mobilize the necessary assistance to deliver the support stockpiled in Juba to the various cantonment sites and barracks as soon as possible.
The Ministers instructed the IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan, Dr. Ismail Wais, in collaboration with the R-JMEC, CTSAMVM and the African Union Commission to urgently organize a workshop for security mechanisms in Juba to agree on a roadmap with clear timeline for the implementation of Transitional Security Arrangements within the one hundred-days’ extension. They directed Dr. Wais to facilitate a meeting of the Parties to the R-ARCSS to resolve the issue of the number of states and their boundaries and any other outstanding issues; to continue to engage the non-signatories to the R-ARCSS; organize a leadership retreat for trust and confidence building as soon as possible; and to closely monitor the progress of implementation of the critical pending tasks within the one hundred days of the newly extended Pre- Transitional Period in close collaboration with R-JMEC and CTSAMVM. They called upon IGAD Heads of State and Government to continue to facilitate face-to-face meetings of the leadership of the Parties including the two principals.
The IGAD Council meeting was also attended by Awut Deng Acuil, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Sudan; Asma Abdalla, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Sudan; Dr. Philimon Mateke, State Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uganda; Hirut Zemene, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Ababu Namwamba, Chief Administrative Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kenya; Abdulkadir Ahmed-Khayr, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Somalia; and Mohamed Ali Hassan, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Djibouti. Also present were Ambassador Mahboub Maalim, outgoing Executive Secretary of IGAD; Dr. Ismail Wais, IGAD Special Envoy for South Sudan; Ambassador Smail Chergui, African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security; and representatives from the UN, the African Union High Level Ad Hoc Committee for South Sudan (South Africa, Nigeria, Algeria, Rwanda and Chad), the Troika, the EU and Japan.
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The Mayor of Washington DC visits Addis Ababa
The Mayor of Washington DC, Ms. Muriel Bowser arrived in Addis Ababa on Saturday (November 9) for a five-day official visit, accompanied by a fifty-strong business community delegation. Mayor Bowser was invited by Addis Ababa Deputy Mayor Takele Uma during an earlier visit to Washington, DC. Mayor Bowser proclaimed July 28, 2018 “Ethiopia Day in DC” in celebration of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s visit to Washington to meet the Ethiopian Diaspora last year. Washington metropolitan area has one of the largest population of Ethiopia-born people in the United States.
The purpose of this visit was to strengthen diplomatic, trade and economic relations between D.C. and Addis Ababa through the renewal of the sister city agreement, to establish cooperation in a number of areas including transportation, healthcare, local government infrastructure and establish new educational partnerships between Ethiopia and Washington, DC based universities. During the visit, members of the Washington DC Chamber of Commerce signed a MoU with Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations.
The sister city agreement and protocol of friendship with Addis Ababa was signed in 2013 and during her visit, Mayor Bowser re-signed the agreement to further strengthen cooperation between the two cities. The agreement covers the promotion of collaboration, information exchange, and joint ventures, with a special focus on business investment, trade and tourism and public-private partnerships, sharing information on best practices in public works, transportation, technology, infrastructure and housing, encouraging culture, arts and education programs for their respective citizens, exchanging health polices and best practices, and sharing information to support a sustainable environment, including energy conservation and the green economy.
As part of the signing ceremony, Deputy Mayor Takele announced the renaming of the Gazebo Roundabout as “Washington DC Square” and of a street entering the roundabout as “Mayor Muriel Bowser Street.” Mayor Bowser said: “I am delighted to accept this historic honor on behalf of all of the residents of Washington, DC.” She pointed out that the “DC region is proud to boast one of the largest populations of Ethiopians in the US, and this Sister City agreement is an effort to ensure we continue to collaborate and develop solutions that support the residents in both of our communities. Addis Ababa holds a special place in the hearts of Washingtonians, and now all Washingtonians have a place to call home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.”
Deputy Mayor Takele said there was so much ‘we can learn from each other,” and called on Ethiopians in DC to provide the “passion, knowledge, expertise, creativity and the values that allowed you to be outstanding citizens and entrepreneurs in DC” for Addis Ababa as well. He said: “As we lay down the cornerstone for this new road in honour of our partnership, I’ve no doubt that we’re cementing a moment in history to highlight the place of DC and its residents in Addis Ababa.”
Mayor Bowser held talks with Minister of Transport Mrs. Dagmawit Moges on Tuesday (November 12) on ways to cooperate on transport management systems. They agreed to hold experiencing-sharing and knowledge-transfer programs on such issues as parking policies, reducing traffic jams and air pollution, as well as traffic management, vehicle data, toll roads, drivers’ licenses, urban metro- and road-safety. They also exchanged views on modernization of taxi services, and the implementation of non-motorized transport.
During her visit Mayor Bowser also met and held talks with President Sahle-Work Zewde and Prime Minister Dr. Abiy to discuss ways of strengthening business relations between the cities of Addis Ababa and Washington DC. She also paid a visit to the rock-churches of Lalibela in Amhara regional state and the recently opened Unity Park in Addis Ababa.
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The Czech Foreign Minister visits Ethiopia and attends a Business Forum
The Foreign Affairs Minister of the Czech Republic, Tomáš Petříček, made an official working visit to Ethiopia this week accompanied by a business delegation. Mr. Petříček held talks with Foreign Affairs Minister, Gedu Andargachew and exchanged views on bilateral and multilateral issues of common interest. Minister Gedu welcomed Mr. Petříček and his delegation and applauded the support the Czech Republic is extending to Ethiopia in the European Union. He reaffirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to take all necessary measures for the success of Czech investments in Ethiopia.
Mr. Petříček commended the ongoing reform in Ethiopia and the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Dr. Abiy. He underlined his government’s more than 30 years of experience in helping private investment to flourish, and said his country was ready to share its experience with Ethiopia. Ethiopia, he said, was one of two countries in Africa that the Czech Republic had selected for building a strategic partnership. He vowed to further strengthen relations between the two countries. He said they could further expand and build strong ties, collaborating in the education, agriculture and transport sectors. Ethiopia and Czech Republic established diplomatic relations in the late 1940s.
During Mr. Petříček’s visit an Ethio-Czech Business Forum was held at the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa on Thursday (November 14). The Forum was organized by the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy of the Czech Republic. More than 75 Ethiopian and Czech companies participated in the Forum and in Business-to-Business meetings, aiming to increase foreign direct investment and strengthen business linkages.
Opening the Forum, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Aklilu Hailemichael said such fora helped to strengthen economic and political relations He pointed out reasons to make Ethiopia a favourite destination for investment, trade and tourism, and urged Czech business persons to invest in the government priority areas for investment, including agriculture, agro-processing, tourism and information technology sectors. Mr. Petříček said “the business Forum would be indispensable in strengthening economic links between the two countries,” and said it would also be important to cooperate in the energy, agriculture, defense industry, aviation and information technology sectors.
The President of Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce, Mrs. Mesenbet Shenkute, pointed out that the level of trade between Ethiopia and Czech Republic was low considering the strong political, economic and cultural relations between the two countries. She said such fora would help it grow. Jaroslav Hanák, President of the Association for Traffic, Forwarding and Servicing firms noted the MoU signed between Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and the Czech Republic would be a milestone in creating links between Ethiopian companies and eleven thousand or so companies in his Association.
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The first Ethiopia and United Arab Emirates’ Political Consultation
The first Ethiopia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) Political Consultation was held in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday last week (November 6). The Ethiopian delegation was led by State Minister, Mrs. Hirut Zemene and the Emirates by Khalifa Shaheen, Assistant Foreign Minister of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The two co-chairs emphasized the interest and commitment of both countries to further strengthen their bilateral relationship. They agreed on the mechanisms for further cooperation in various fields and underlined the role of the political consultation as an important footstep to enhance cooperation between the two countries. Mrs. Hirut underlined the growing relationship between the two countries, emphasizing their existing comprehensive political, economic and social relations.
The Consultation also focused on regional security and stability matters. The two sides considered mechanisms for the handling of irregular migration and human trafficking through implementation of labor agreements and consular agreements between the two countries. They discussed ways to promote relations through cultural exchanges and involving in tourism sectors.
Other points of discussion included agreements signed between the two countries concerning economic matters. State Minister Mrs. Hirut emphasized that although the trade volume between Ethiopia and UAE was close to a billion dollars a year, there was still room for expansion. She invited the Emirates to participate more in the trade and investment opportunities that were now being opened up by the government. She urged UAE companies to invest particularly in logistics and tourism sectors in which the UAE had vast experience. The two sides agreed that pending and suggested draft agreements could be signed during planned ministerial visits.
Another area of discussion was the possibility of cooperation between the Diplomatic Training Institutes of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia and Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of UAE and for diplomatic and academic exchanges. In addition, they also considered ways to cooperate further in terms of capacity building and exchange of information between the Ministries.
In covering wider regional issues, State Minister Mrs. Hirut provided details of recent developments with regard to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the Nile. She updated the UAE delegation on the status of construction as well as the trilateral mechanism and the ongoing technical consultations between Ethiopia, Egypt and the Sudan.
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The 18th Nordic and African Foreign Ministers Joint Forum
The 2019’s annual Forum of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Nordic and African countries was held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, last week (November 7-8) under the theme “African-Nordic Partnership in Addressing the Climate Challenge and the SDGs”. The meeting was chaired by President Dr. John Magufuli of Tanzania and brought together representatives from 28 African Countries and the Nordic countries, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark. Dr. Aklilu Hailemichael, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, led Ethiopia’s delegation.
The meeting, which congratulated Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed and the people of Ethiopia and of Africa for winning the 2019’s Nobel Peace Prize as it underlined that Africans were capable of solving their own problems by themselves, agreed to look for financial resources to implement major projects dealing with the challenges of climate change. Denmark and Norway said they would to set aside funds for the implementation of such projects. Participating countries agreed to push the climate change agenda in various international forums. The meeting also discussed peace and security, trade and investment, and provision of social services.
President Magufuli called on African countries to tap into their enormous potential including natural and human resources. He urged African countries to wean themselves off donor dependency, emphasizing they had abundant potential to advance. He stressed cooperation between Nordic countries and Africa should move from a donor-recipient relationship to a partnership in trade and investment.
State Minister Aklilu detailed the ongoing reforms in Ethiopia including the return of political dissidents, legal changes, the release of prisoners, including journalists and politicians, and the promise of a fair and free election. He underlined the efforts to end the stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea and the commitment to facilitating dialogue to solve bilateral problems and promote peace, security and economic integration in the region. Dr. Aklilu also expressed Ethiopia’s continued determination to mediate between the rival parties in Sudan and South Sudan. He affirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to peacekeeping and peace building under the umbrella of the UN.
On the side-lines of the Forum, Dr. Aklilu held bilateral talks with Damas D. Ndumbaro, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tanzania. They reiterated the friendly and historic relation between Ethiopia and Tanzania going back to the anti-colonial movement and the formation of the Organization of African Unity. They discussed the possibilities of elevating the already excellent relations to the highest level; and identified areas of trade, tourism and investment with potential for further cooperation, emphasising the Ethiopian Airlines daily flights to Tanzania would augment cooperation. Dr. Aklilu also held meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Tanzania, Denmark, Norway and Sweden and other Deputy Foreign Ministers.
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New opportunities for encouraging regional integration in Eastern Africa
“Leveraging New Opportunities for Regional Integration in Eastern Africa” This was the theme of the three-day 23rdmeeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Senior Officials and Experts for Eastern Africa (ICSOE) organized by the Economic Commission for Africa and held in Asmara last week. Delegations from Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia and Tanzania were present as were representatives from the AU Commission, COMESA; East African Community; IGAD; Northern Corridor Transit and Transport Coordination Authority; Ports Management Authority for Eastern and Southern Africa; Nile Basin Initiative (NBI); and numerous other organizations and universities as well as UN agencies. The meeting elected Eritrea as chair for 2019-2020 with Seychelles and Ethiopia as the two vice-chairs. Sessions covered a Macroeconomic and Social Overview of Eastern Africa; How to fast-track AfCFTA implementation in Eastern Africa; Boosting Tourism Development in Eastern Africa; Investments for Energy and Infrastructure Development in Eastern Africa; Sustainable Development in Eastern Africa: and Aligning National, Continental and Global agendas.
The meeting’s final communique insisted on the importance of regional cooperation to tap the potential benefits of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), for job creation, social cohesion and industrialization. It agreed further economic integration, through the effective implementation of the AfCFTA, could help create a more sustainable and inclusive growth, address the current challenges affecting East African economies and create up to 2 million new jobs. The meeting heard of the failure to appeal to the African market, stringent visa regimes and the high cost of air transport as well as a narrow range of tourism products and a lack of tourism statistics. It agreed on the value of regional integration for tourism, the importance of developing standardized data collection; of providing a framework to guide diversification of tourism products; and of the value of working collaboratively under existing regional and continental initiatives.
On energy, the meeting emphasized the need for additional investment resources from public and private sectors to sustain investment in Eastern Africa’s infrastructure; the need for periodic regional fora to allow for experience-sharing on infrastructure; and the importance of having regional infrastructure projects to leverage progress on regional economic integration. Participants, highlighting ECA’s planned initiative of a special bond, asserted the need to diversify financing sources.
Another area of discussion was social cohesion, threatened by rising inequalities. The meeting called for policy interventions that leverage cross-border ethnic affinities; encouragement of the concept of social cohesion at regional level; a study of regional cohesion; and establishment of regional money-transfer platforms. Other suggestions included financing of policies that alleviate social tensions such as developing social safety nets; and facilitate cross-border trade. With the example of Seychelles, Comoros and Madagascar, the meeting also discussed the blue economy and its potential for regional integration. It underlined the need to put in place mechanisms to ensure local communities could benefit, and underscored the important role of regional cooperation in fostering sustainable sharing and management of resources.
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The 40th Session of UNESCO General Conference opens in Paris.
The 40th Session of the UNESCO General Conference was opened in Paris on Tuesday (November 12) by UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. The Secretary-General underlined five global fractures that threaten the world: the increasing risk of fragmentation of global order, growing inequalities, deepening rifts among peoples and rise of racism, environmental challenges and the digital divide. He stressed the importance of a strong multilateral system to address these challenges and highlighted the unique role of UNESCO and education. He stressed the recently launched UNESCO Commission on Futures of Education chaired by Ethiopia’s President Sahle-Work Zewde had a critical role in finding answers to these challenges. The theme of this year’s Conference is about ‘(Re)generation’, and the role of young people in shaping the global agenda for peace.
The Ethiopian Delegation participating in the 40th Session is led by Professor Afework Kassu, State Minister of Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and this week he participated in the Higher Education Ministerial Meeting on the theme of ¨Inclusion in Higher Education¨. He told the meeting that Ethiopia was trying its best to promote inclusive higher education, enacting local policies and guidelines for inclusive education in general, and inclusive higher education in particular. These primarily focused on tackling lack of access, equity, efficiency, quality, and relevance, arguing the need to broaden higher education opportunities on the basis of aspects of social justice and fairness, economic efficiency, and equitable distribution of wealth. He pointed out the last two decades had seen significant expansion of Ethiopia’s higher education system. The number of universities had increased from 2 at the end of the 1990s to 54, and the total enrolment for undergraduate programs had risen from 40,000 to more than 1million in 2019. This included students with special needs (2,355), students from emerging regions (23,828), students from pastoral areas (20,654), and foreign students including refugees and scholarships (1163).
The initiatives taken included affirmative action, positive discrimination for female students, students with disabilities and students from emerging regions to enter higher education institutions, university support systems covering disability centers, capacity building training, and campus adjustment skills as well as financial and material support, and a friendly physical environment. He also noted Ethiopia had adopted policies providing refugees with the right to work and learn since 2018. Others steps included internationalizing higher education for staff and student exchange programs via scholarships, bilateral agreements and expatriate academic staff,
Ethiopia, Professor Afework said, was still working hard to further promote quality and inclusiveness in higher education. It was currently revising its Education and Training Policy, developing a long-term Education and Training Development Roadmap, reviewing curricula, differentiating universities on the basis of areas of specialization and internationalization. There was still, however, much to be done to make higher education fully inclusive in the context of a young, rapidly expanding and under-resourced higher education system.
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Ethiopia participates in Mumbai’s World Trade Expo 2019
The two-day World Trade Expo (WTE) 2019 in Mumbai opened on Wednesday this week (November 13). Featuring an exhibition, business-to-business meetings and country presentations, the Expo provided a platform for representatives from 30 countries, including Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, South Africa, and Uganda from Africa. Over 50 foreign business houses active in India as well as Small and Medium Enterprises from several Indian States also participated, to meet, connect and explore investment opportunities. Participants presented trade and investment opportunities, ways in which SMEs were being integrated in global value chains, export-ready products and services, with a concentration on manufacturing, agro- and food-processing and services. The Expo created new avenues for SMEs, women entrepreneurs and start-ups to explore and interact to tap unexplored markets and seek potential buyers and collaborators.
Ethiopia’s involvement, organized by the Ethiopian Consulate in Mumbai, promoted the country’s business, investment and tourism opportunities. The Consul-General in Mumbai, Demeke Atnafu Ambulo, said “Ethiopia is a Land of Origins and has numerous things to offer to the world. We have a plethora of opportunities for everyone. In this Expo, we want to promote business, investment and tourism opportunities in Ethiopia. Many business people have established activities in Ethiopia and the tourist flow from India is increasing gradually.” He said he was optimistic that the Expo would further offer new opportunities in every field”.
