A Forum on “Doing Business with Ethiopia” held in Nordic Countries A 20-member Ethiopian women business delegation led by First Lady Roman Tesfaye visited Sweden and Finland from 17-21, October 2016. The delegation promoted Ethiopia’s export products (textile, leather and leather products, coffee and honey) and investment opportunities to the Nordic countries at a business forum organized under the title: “Doing Business with Ethiopia!” First Lady Roman Tesfaye underscored the need for Ethiopian business communities to work in concert with their Swedish and Finnish counterparts in a bid to explore market opportunities through building and encouraging women entrepreneurs. Woinshet Tadesse,…
-
-
Netherlands pledges to support Ethiopia’s efforts to reduce poverty, unemployment Ethiopian parliamentarians have conferred today with their Dutch counterparts here at the House of People’s Representatives (HPR) meeting hall. During the discussion, both sides agreed to cooperate in reducing poverty and unemployment, which are the root causes for illegal migration and terrorism. Tesfaye Daba, Chairperson of the Foreign Affairs Standing Committee with the House of People’s Representatives (HPR), told the Dutch parliamentarians that Ethiopia is working to ensure the benefit of the youth by designing youth-centered policy. Ethiopia is currently hosting more than 800,000 refugees from various countries, he said,…
-
Ethiopia, Sudan ink agreement in various areas Ethiopia and Sudan yesterday signed agreements to cooperate in the areas of livestock, transport, railway and banking services. The agreement was inked yesterday at the conclusion of the 4th Ethio-Sudan Joint Economic Committee Meeting held in Addis Ababa for three days. Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr. Debretsion Gebremichael said the two countries are working to integrate with infrastructure and boost ties. Among the areas the two countries agree to cooperate in the banking service. In this regard, the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia has finalized preparation to open its branch in Sudan…
-
The 4th Ethio-Sudan Joint Technical Committee Meeting The Fourth Ethio-Sudan Joint Technical Committee Meeting opened in Addis Ababa on Wednesday this week (October 19) at the Elili Hotel. The three day meeting brought together a range of stakeholders from the governments of Ethiopia and Sudan to review the progress of the various agreements signed during the previous Joint Technical Committee Meeting and to look into other potential areas of bilateral cooperation, such as possible joint cooperation for further economic integration.In a keynote address, State Minster of the Ministry of Industry and Head of the Ethiopian technical committee, Dr Meberhatu Meles,…
-
This week’s COMESA Summit in Antananarivo The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) held its 19th Summit from October 10-19 in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Among those attending were the Presidents of Madagascar, Zimbabwe and Zambia as well as the Vice-Presidents of Burundi, the Union of The Comoros, Kenya and Sudan and representatives of COMESA states, the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission and representatives of the EU Commission, USAID and seventeen other countries. Ahmed Shide, State Minister for Finance and Economic Cooperation led the Ethiopian delegation, and, on behalf of Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn, handed over the chair…
-
The declaration of a state of emergency is quite in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Under Article 93, the Ethiopian Constitution clearly states that the Council of Ministers of the Federal Government shall have the power to decree a state of emergency, writes Zekarias Talo Anjulo. Over the last months, people in different areas of the country, particularly Oromia and Amhara regional states, have been raising questions concerning lack of good governance, the need for an equitable share of resources and for a fairer distribution of economic development, and the provision of necessary employment…
-
A deal to reduce HCFs in Kigali and a pre–COP22 meeting in Marrakech Nearly 200 countries struck a landmark deal on Saturday (October 15) in Kigali to reduce emissions hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), one of the most powerful greenhouse gases. This could prevent up to 0.5°C of global warming by the end of this century. The amendment to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer agreed in Kigali is the single largest contribution the world has made towards keeping the global temperature rise “well below” 2°C, the target agreed at Paris last year. UN Environment chief, Erik Solheim, said…
-
Human Rights Watch encourages opposition violence in Ethiopia We noted last week that Felix Horne, Human Rights Watch’s Ethiopia researcher, has recently been making considerable efforts to push the European Union to use its role as Ethiopia’s main development cooperation partner to force Ethiopia to accept an international investigation into the way the government had responded to recent protests. He has been writing articles on the subject, giving interviews to Reuters and, last week, addressing the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights. In all of these, in order to support his demands, he has deliberately given impressions and made claims…
-
News in Brief Africa and the African Union Negotiators from more than 170 countries in Kigali on Saturday (October 15) reached a legally binding accord to cut the worldwide use of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), by 2018 for developed countries and by 2024 for developing countries. The Kigali deal, seven years in the making, is “much stronger than Paris” and is a mandatory agreement. (See article) Morocco which holds the Presidency of the 22nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) hosted a Pre-COP Ministerial Meeting in Marrakech this week (October 18-19), in preparation for COP22…
-
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel paid an official visit to Ethiopia on Tuesday this week (October 11, 2016) at the end of a three-nation tour in Africa which took her to Mali and Niger as well as Ethiopia. During her visit she held talks with Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn and also visited the headquarters of the African Union. Prime Minister Hailemariam met with Chancellor Merkel at the National Palace and their discussions covered a range of issues including; peace and security in the region; migration and refugees; natural resource conservation and development; democracy and good governance and trade and investment as…
