Mr. Wang Yi, State Councillor and Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China, arrived in Ethiopia for an official visit on Thursday (January 3). During his visit, Mr. Wang Yi held separate talks with Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, and with Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, on bilateral, regional and international matters.The State Councillor and Foreign Minister also paid a courtesy call on President Sahle-Work Zewde, as well as visiting AU Headquarters. During the meeting with the Prime Minister, both sides underlined the importance of the time-tested relations between the two countries. Acknowledging China’s immense contribution to Ethiopia, Prime…

It has been a year of dramatic political changes in Ethiopia, with Monday (April 2) marking a historic day in its political history when Dr. Abiy Ahmed, at the age of 42, became one of Africa’s youngest leaders, sworn as the new Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. In his inaugural speech, Dr. Abiy began by extending his appreciation of former Premier Hailemariam Dessalegn for his exemplary decision to voluntarily step down as part of the solution for the instability that had affected the country in recent years. This exactly proved the former Prime Minister correct when he…

Kenya has said it will begin to implement the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) that the East African Community (ECA) has been negotiating with the European Union, although only Kenya and Rwanda have so far signed the agreements. Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi have been reluctant to do so. The issue was raised last week on the side-lines of the Africa-Europe High Level Forum in Vienna when President Uhuru Kenyatta and Rwandan President Paul Kagame met with senior EU officials. Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement indicating President Kenyatta and President Kagame had agreed with the President of the European…

A3’s UN resolution to finance AU-led peace operations under negotiation The African members of the UN Security Council, the A3, for 2018 were Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea; and for 2017 were Egypt, Senegal and Ethiopia. In October, the A3 held a series of meetings with the leadership of the United Nations, including the Secretary-General, the Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping and Field Support as well as the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights to secure support from the United Nations Secretariat for a proposed draft resolution on the financing of African Union-led peace support operations authorized by and under the…

Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen pays a working visit to Sudan  Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen led a delegation to the Sudan for a working visit to the Republic of the Sudan last week (December 19-21). The delegation, which included State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Hirut Zemene, was warmly welcomed in Khartoum by Vice-President Osman Mohamed Yesuf Kibir. The visit was aimed at boosting the bilateral relationship between the two countries in all areas in the spirit of the consensus reached during the recent exchange of high level visits. It is to be recalled that Prime Minister Dr. Abiy…

In its two years as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2018, issues in the Horn of Africa were, of course, a matter of priority for Ethiopia.  Continuing our look at Ethiopia’s two years as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, we can see it was, as might be expected, consistently proactive in the relevant discussions on the Horn, including the UN force in Abyei (UNISFA), the UN/AU Hybrid force in Darfur (UNAMID), the lifting of sanctions on Eritrea, AMISOM in Somalia and the problems of South Sudan. The…

Completion of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), launched in April 2011 and originally planned for completion in 2017, has been rescheduled. It will now become operational in four years, by 2022. The rescheduling of the timescale of the Dam Project has been done because of the problems associated with delays in the provision of the Dam’s electro-mechanical and metal works. A detailed assessment and measurement of the sophisticated electro-mechanical works of the Dam is now being made by carefully selected well experienced and internationally renowned companies to devise remedial plan and continue the work.  The work on the Dam…

The Ethiopia-Kenya High-level Cross-border Peace Dialogue was held at the end of last week (December 14-15) in Hawassa, the capital of Ethiopia’s Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Regional State. The dialogue was organized by IGAD’s Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism (CEWARN). It was led by Zeinu Jamal, State Minister of Peace of Ethiopia, Peter K. Thuku, Head of Kenya’s National Conflict Early Warning Response Unit (CEWERU), representing the Minister of Interior and Coordination of National Government of Kenya, and as the Director of CEWARN, Camlus Omogo. High-level officials from the adjoining counties and regional states of both countries were…

In Kenya, President Isaias was welcomed by Dr. Monica Juma, Kenyan Foreign Minister, at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport when he arrived for his two-day official visit on December 13. He was accompanied by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, Presidential Advisor, Yemane Gebreab and the Director of the Office of the President, Mr. Amin Hassan.   President Isaias held discussions with President Kenyatta on issues of common interests, including strengthening bilateral relations and regional peace and stability. The two leaders noted the potential opportunities of cooperation between Eritrea and Kenya. They agreed to work to develop their partnership in trade, investment and…

President Sahle-Work led the Ethiopian delegation to the EU-Africa High Level Forum held in Vienna this week, December 17-18 under the theme “Taking cooperation to the digital age`”, to promote innovation and digitalization as important enablers for future development. President Sahle-Work addressed the Forum on Tuesday (December 18), underlining that the information age in which we live demands catching up with the rapidly changing developments in the digital sector. She said we were witnessing that fast growth in digital economy brought more opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs, opened doors to international markets and allowed many more to participate in the…