The 15th Ethio-Djibouti Joint Ministerial Commission meeting was held in Djibouti on Wednesday and Thursday this week (January 30-31st). Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu led a high-level Ethiopian delegation which included several ministers, and the meeting offered the opportunity to discuss ways of strengthening bilateral cooperation, particularly on areas including transport, port, customs, health and education. Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nebyat Getachew, told journalists that this regular Joint Commission Meeting provided a forum at which both sides can evaluate the progress of their relationship and resolution of any possible upcoming issues. The two countries are linked with vital infrastructural facilities and they conduct periodic monitoring and evaluation on their progress.
Addressing the opening session on Wednesday (January 30), Dr. Workneh expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the warm welcome accorded to him and the delegation. He recalled that the people of Ethiopia and Djibouti were one people living in two countries and they were a people intertwined, with culture, religion, language, tradition and history. He emphasized that Ethiopia, Djibouti, peace, development and our destiny in general are tied together. “It is this common destiny that drives both of us to find ways to work and collaborate at all levels and in all spheres of cooperation”, he said, adding that joint cooperation on political, social, education areas demonstrated a firm commitment aimed to attain sustainable development and alleviate poverty in their respective countries.
The Minister stressed that the 15th Joint Ministerial Commission meeting was yet another expression of Ethiopia’s commitment to nurture the all-rounded cooperation existing between the two countries. Noting that Prime Minister Dr. Abiy’s first external visit was to Djibouti, Dr. Workneh underlined the great importance his Government attached to its ties with Djibouti. He said the two countries had an excellent track record of working together on the issues of combating common security challenges such as terrorism and extremism under the umbrella of IGAD. Dr. Workneh also emphasized the need to scale up their collective endeavours to consolidate the emerging peace and stability in the region. He referred to the new Standard Gauge Railway between Djibouti and Addis Ababa, the supply of clean and cheap electricity to Djibouti, Djibouti’s modern port facilities, and the plans of a pipeline for transport of natural gas from Ethiopia. These were among the symbolic cooperation links between the two countries. The Minister praised the Government of Djibouti for taking steps to improve relations with Eritrea, and he said President Guelleh had been an excellent catalyst, further encouraging the wind of hope across the region. In concluding his remarks, Dr. Workneh urged the need to expedite the implementation of the agreements reached between the two countries to further expand their ties to a higher level.
Djibouti’s Foreign Minister, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, said the ties between the two countries had always been in the spirit of the unique brotherly bonds between their peoples. He said Ethio-Djibouti relations were a showcase of regional integration and an example of how the Agenda 2063 of the African Union could be materialized. The Minister commended the impact of the bold and incisive decisions of Prime Minister Dr. Abiy towards ensuring peace and harmonization in the region. He expressed his own Government’s deep-seated commitment to stand alongside its Ethiopian counterpart to spearhead the paradigm shift in the region.
As an essential prelude to the15th Ethio-Djibouti Joint Ministerial Commission meeting, the 22nd Joint Technical Committee meeting between the two countries, to deliberate on matters of technicalities, opened on Sunday (January 27). Welcoming the Ethiopian side, the Director General for Bilateral Relation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Djibouti, Yassin Hussein Dwale, commended the recent efforts by leaders of both countries to move their links into high gear in areas of mutual profit. Mr. Dwale noted the series of exchange of visits made by the two leaders in 2018. Noting the two countries had a conjoined destiny, Mr. Dwale said Djibouti always attached the highest importance to its relations with its sister country, Ethiopia.
Ethiopia’s co-chair of the technical committee meeting, Director General for Neighboring Countries and IGAD Affairs, Yibeltal Aemro, also noted the historic relations between the two countries, stressing the need to further bolster their exemplary ties through the adoption and implementation of programs in areas that would mutually benefit both countries. The co-chair noted the Joint Technical Committee meeting served as an important platform to explore opportunities as well identify loopholes to advance their ties to a higher level in matters of the economy, joint infrastructure development, and social and political affairs as well as people-to-people ties. Recalling Premier Abiy’s first overseas visit to Djibouti, Ato Yibeltal expressed his Government’s readiness to make every effort necessary to speed up their economic integration.
Following the opening session, the Joint Technical Committee proceeded to work on technical matters under four sub-committees; Social and Political sub-committee, Port Issues sub-committee, Economic sub-committee and Transport Issues sub-committee. Following their three days of work the Joint Ministerial Commission meeting provided enhanced platforms to scale up ties between the two countries in the various areas covered by the sub-committees and as well as through people-to-people relations.
In his closing remarks on Thursday (January 31), Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh commended the excellent and practical commitment shown by both sides to encourage and expand the existing partnership platforms and to explore further potential channels of joint cooperation in education, health, investment, business and rail-road transport sectors. Signing the Agreed Minutes, Dr. Workneh also underlined the exemplary approach shown by Ethiopia and Djibouti in economic cooperation. This, he said, served as the bedrock for an economic integration which they hoped would provide a platform that would include all of the region.
Djibouti’s Mahmoud Ali Youssouf expressed his immense appreciation of the role model that Ethio-Djibouti bilateral ties offered for the economic, political, social, education, investment and business spheres. He said: “Ethiopia and Djibouti enjoy a common vision, a shared history and both countries should work further ahead to upscale bilateral ties based on mutual interest, mutual respect and mutual benefits.” Minister Youssouf commended the wisdom and leadership of Ethiopia in ushering a wind of hope into the skies of the Horn region, which, he said, provided an enhanced synergy to work closely on regional issues of mutual interest and mutual concern.
Both sides agreed the next session (16th) of the Ethio-Djibouti Joint Ministerial Commission should take place in Addis Ababa.
