It was no surprise that the AU Summit, held under the theme of “The Year of Refugees, Returnees, and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa,” took note of the fact that Ethiopia’s new refugee law is one of the most progressive refugee policies in Africa. Certainly, the changed law will enhance the lives of both refugees and host communities; and it is now being supported by the Ethiopia Country Refugee Response Plan (ECRRP), issued earlier this month. The ECRRP Plan covers the period January 2019 to December 2020, and outlines the intended collective response of…
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An Ethio-Kenya Joint Border Commission meeting opened in Adama City, Ethiopia, on Tuesday (February 12). The meeting reviewed the progress of implementation of the decisions and recommendations of the 31st Joint Border Commission meeting. The three-day meeting discussed political, socio-economic, peace and security issues across the shared border, and focused on intra-border security, stemming illegal weapons flow and human trafficking, enhancing border trade for the benefit of the border communities, and cooperation on health and education as well as strengthening people-to-people ties between the communities on both sides of the border. The meeting was concluded by the adoption of resolutions…
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Ethiopia and Eritrea resumed diplomatic relations on June 18 last year after 20 years of hostility, with Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed making a landmark visit to Eritrea and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki visiting Ethiopia. Despite fighting a bloody two-year border war from 1998-2000, the peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea share numerous complementarities in terms of culture, history and livelihood. Indeed, the people of the two countries are basically one people living in two countries on the ground. It was in line with this that an Eritrean Public and Cultural Diplomacy Delegation arrived in Addis Ababa on Thursday last week…
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The 32nd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, which comprises the Heads of State and Governments of all African countries, was held under the theme: “Year of Refugees, Returnees and Internally Displaced Persons: Towards Durable Solutions to Forced Displacement in Africa”, on Sunday and Monday (February 10-11) in Addis Ababa. The Assembly is the culmination of the Union’s statutory meetings and it was preceded by the meetings of the Executive Council of Foreign Ministers and of the Permanent Representatives Committee. The Assembly heard the reports of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat on the…
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Ethio-Kenya Joint Border Commission meeting opened in Adama City, Ethiopia, on Tuesday (February 12). The meeting focused on intra-border security, stemming illegal weapons flow and human trafficking, enhancing border trade for the benefit of the border communities, and cooperation on health and education as well as strengthening people-to-people ties between the communities on both sides of the border. Mrs. Teyiba Hassen, the Deputy Chief Administrator of Ethiopia’s Oromia Regional State noted that the relationship between Ethiopia and Kenya was longstanding and one based on solid foundations. The peoples of the two countries, she emphasized, were tied together by blood, culture…
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EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica visited Eritrea at the end of last week, launching an initial €20 million project for road connections between the Ethiopian border and Eritrean ports. During his visit, Commissioner Mimica met President Isaias to explore ways for the EU and Eritrea to step up political relations and dialogue on matters of concern to both sides. He noted: “The European Union is committed to support Eritrea and Ethiopia in delivering their historic peace agreement, which ended twenty years of conflict. To back this, we are launching a €20 million program to rebuild the…
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Senior military commanders of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), started a four-day meeting in Mogadishu on Monday (February 11) to develop a comprehensive plan for implementation of the new Concept of Operations (CONOPS). Those taking part are AMISOM sector commanders, representatives from the Somali National Army (SNA), the UN and development partners. The new CONOPS was approved by the Military Operations Coordination Committee, a forum of Chiefs of Defense Staff and representatives of the AMISOM Troop- and Police-Contributing Countries, the Federal Government of Somalia, UN, development partners, and the AU Peace and Security Council, in November last year.…
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The 15th Djibouti-Ethiopian Joint Ministerial Commission meeting was held at the end of last month (January 30-31) in Djibouti. The meeting was held in a spirit of brotherhood that reflected the excellent relations between the two countries. At the same time, it also provided a unique platform for both countries, to serve as a venue for the determination of both governments to demonstrate a renewed resolution to continue to play a pivotal role in the progress of the Horn of Africa and of Africa. Both governments are, after all, engaged in a process of reform aimed, inter alia, to encourage…
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The 15th Djibouti-Ethiopian Joint Ministerial Commission meeting was held at the end of last month (January 30-31) in Djibouti. The meeting was held in a spirit of brotherhood that reflected the excellent relations between the two countries. At the same time, it also provided a unique platform for both countries, to serve as a venue for the determination of both governments to demonstrate a renewed resolution to continue to play a pivotal role in the progress of the Horn of Africa and of Africa. Both governments are, after all, engaged in a process of reform aimed, inter alia, to encourage…
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Bus Diplo Update 6th edition-1(1)