This article was originally published in the 8th issue (October 2017) of The Ethiopian Messenger, the quarterly magazine of the Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels.

In the summer of 2017, the European Union decided to support the Nile Basin Initiative through its international development cooperation instrument, the European Development Fund. This decision demonstrates Europe’s interest and readiness to support the NBI and the establishment of the Nile Basin Commission. Ethiopia took this opportunity to renew its commitment to work towards ensuring an equitable utilization of the Nile river water resources.

This decision from the EU came after a summit held from 20- 22 June 2017 in Entebbe, Uganda, between all 10 riparian countries to discuss how to equitably use the Nile waters. The heads of the delegations at the Summit underlined the achievements of the Nile Basin Initiative as an effective platform for the Nile Basin countries over the last 18 years. They expressed the need to establish the Nile Basin River Commission to further consolidate these objectives as soon as possible.

More than 300 million people across 11 countries rely on the waters of the Nile, a much-needed resource, among others for drinkable water, agriculture and generation of energy. The increasing population and growing economy of the region will even further drive the demand. Another challenge that needs to be addressed collectively is the impact of climate change on the flow of the Nile, which is likely to become more irregular. A recent report produced in April 2017 by researchers of the world-famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology detailed in their conclusions that climate change may drastically increase the variability of the Nile’s annual output (“Climate change enhances interannual variability of the Nile river flow”, Nature Climate Change, 24 April 2017, link) projects a major increase in flow variation from year to year. “We think that climate change is pointing to the need for more storage capacity in the future”, the authors said. There can be no doubt that the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam would be extremely important and valuable in this connection.

In this context of economic, social and natural changes, and in order to optimize an equitable use of the Nile resource by all riparian countries, the enhanced international dialogue between the concerned countries provided by the NBI is crucial. A better cooperation could create a stabilising, economic-growth-friendly atmosphere in the Nile region. If this cooperation bears fruits, this organisation could become an example for some of the many other international basins throughout the world, where water resources are shared between several states.

The NBI is a ten-country organisation set up in 1999 to facilitate cooperation around Nile River Basin policies and investments for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the riparian countries. Its headquarters are located in Entebbe, Uganda. The riparian countries negotiated the Nile Cooperative Framework Agreement – as a basis for the Nile River Basin Commission which is expected to be established on a permanent basis.

Beyond political cooperation, the NBI is focusing on technical issues, training and knowledge-sharing. The NBI organisation is also gathering and analysing technical data on water resource development plans of the riparian countries. The Initiative is also involved a Collaborative Water Assessment Process which helps to model different scenarios of the water resource levels and impacts of investments made around the river.

Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu briefed Addis-based diplomats on current situations in Ethiopia, giving particular emphasis on the recent irresponsible clashes in Oromia and Somali Regional States, unrest in some parts of Oromia and the recent devaluation of Ethiopian birr among others.

Dr. Workneh underscored that clashes in Oromia and Somali Regional States were instigated by rent-seeking groups who wanted to take advantage of minor conflicts. The Foreign Minister said the government was now working to dismantle the activities of these rent seeking groups along the border. He also noted the government held serious of discussions with residents in the affected areas, their community elders and religious leaders as well as presidents of the regional states on September 14 and October 4, 2017 to urge them to work together on the basis of the Federal Constitution and resolve the conflict through dialogue. Understanding was reached that the problem is largely contained with some pockets of conflicts along the common regional border, he added.

The Foreign Minister noted that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission is investigating the causes of deaths and alleged abuses in the said areas. Once the investigation of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the Government vows to take action in accordance with relevant laws of the Sate on perpetrators of the recent killings and displacement, he noted.

He also said that Indicate that the Government is assisting those displaced and is urgently developing a rehabilitation program. He further noted that elders and religious leaders reaffirmed their commitment to support efforts of government to restore law and order and stressed the need for close and continuous collaboration. He also said that the government is taking all necessary measures to stabilize the areas affected by the conflict and the situation in the border areas between the Oromia and Somalia Regional States is now getting back to normalcy.

Following the incidents that took along the Oromia and Ethio-Somali regions and the killings and substantial displacement of civilians, illegal protests were seen at least in eight towns of the Oromia region causing the death of eight people in Shashemene and Borena areas, according to the Foreign Minister. He said the Oromia Regional State has taken measures against offenders who targeted civilians and also put members of the police and military members who acted irresponsibly.

Regarding the reforms in the country’s electoral process Dr. Workneh said a number of different proposals have been put forward among different parties aimed at creating a wider democratic space and productive talks are underway. He also noted Government’s move in the devaluation of the country’s currency as a way to “prop up exports”. The Minister has also responded to questions from members of the diplomatic community.

On the 10th of October 2017, Ethiopian State Minister Mr. Mebrahtu Meles met with Luxembourg Minister for Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance Romain Schneider to discuss the current Ethiopia-Luxembourg relations.

During his trip in Addis Ababa, Mr. Romain Schneider also participated to the African Microfinance Week in Addis Ababa. ADA, a Luxembourg NGO, supported the organization of the event, as well as various governments including the Ethiopian and Luxembourg government.

Mr Schneider said his country Luxembourg was a major supporter of inclusive finance, because it is hosting the European Platform for Microfinance, the Microinsurance Network, the Inclusive Finance Network and the Luxembourg Microfinance Development Fund.

Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu met with his Irish counterpart Mr. Simon Conevey in Addis today (November 06) during which the two parties urged the need to further scale up the ever growing bilateral ties to a high gear. Noting the development partnership that Ireland forges with Ethiopia not only as the largest one in Africa but also in the world, Foreign Minister Simon expressed his country’s fervor to further deepen and broaden the relations mapping out new areas of engagement; be it economic or political. Given Ethiopia’s reputation in economic progress, stability and its exemplary role in regional as well as continental venues and Ireland’s ambitious new policy project to forge meaningful relations with other African countries, the Foreign Minister highlighted the immense benefits of consulting the government of Ethiopia. He noted, Ethiopia will continue to be “the largest financial and development partner of Ireland.”

Commending his Irish counterpart for choosing Ethiopia as a first destination of his African visit, Dr. Workneh dubbed the relations between the two countries as “a very important one.” Taking note of Ireland’s remarkable achievement in swiftly and productively transforming the unemployed youth in a very short period of time, Dr. Workneh said Ethiopia looks forward to working with Ireland to learn lessons on how to largely make the youth part of the economic boom in the country. He also hails the Irish investors in Ethiopia who are contributing a lot in further cementing the ties. 17 Irish companies including Radisson Blu and M-Birr with a capital of more than 725 million birr are involved in investment in Ethiopia.

The two sides noted with satisfaction the success of bilateral cooperation in the areas of investment and emphasized the need to scale up collective endeavors in livestock, technology transfer as well as issues of migration.

Issues ranging from the on- going political reform including the dialogue with political parties to peace and security in the Region, giving particular emphasis on South Sudan and Somalia, were also subjects raised on the occasion.

Mr. Conevey is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn in the afternoon. The visiting Minister will also meet Minister of MoFEC and Chairperson of the AU Commission. He is also expected to make a visit to Kenya.

This article was originally published in the 8th issue (October 2017) of The Ethiopian Messenger, the quarterly magazine of the Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels.

The current developmental efforts of Ethiopia dates back from the end of the Derg regime, when a coalition of resistance fighters overthrew the oppressive and brutal communist junta which divided the country and failed to lead to create a stable and prosperous nation. Since the establishment of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in 1991 and the adoption of the 1995 Constitution, the country has been fighting against its only real enemies: poverty and the lack of good governance.

The post-Cold War Era’s surge in conflicts and civil wars that fragmented weak states in smaller entities has often been simplistically blamed on ethnic or religious strife. However, countries like Ethiopia demonstrate that dysfunctional governance, inefficient institution and societal frustrations are much more lethal than cultural or ethnic diversity. After the end of the Cold war, the African continent was particularly affected by protracted wars which claimed the lives of millions of innocent civilians, considerably damaged their environments and destroyed their young economies.

From the 1970s to the late 1990s, the accumulation of grievances fostered nationalism and tensions on many countries, which resulted in some of the bloodiest civil wars in human history and forced the international community to adopt self-determination as an integral part of the international law. Sadly, while a high number of emerging and developing countries being integrated into the global market and making technological progress, the African continent is still not entirely immune from the evils of civil war, destruction and displacement.

What went wrong?

For decades, Ethiopia suffered from the evils of totalitarianism, which resulted in a three-decade-long bloody civil war. The conflict did not only cripple the politico- economic apparatus of the country, but also impacted its territorial sovereignty with the secession of Eritrea in 1991. Prior to the end of the civil war, neither the Derg regime, who took power from Emperor Haile Selessaie in 1978, nor the Imperial regime tolerated opposition or dissidents.

The suppression and oppression of ethnic identities in the country borne armed liberation struggles, particularly in the northern part of the country, with the creation of the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The North’s initial struggle progressively came to engulf all major ethnic groups of the country to stand in line with the TPLF. The Derg regime waged a full-scale, fratricide war for years against the various nationalities of the country, with fellow countrymen fighting each other because of their divergent views for the future of Ethiopia.

Peace negotiations failed one after another, as the regime chose to crush the liberation movement by deploying its considerable military strength, as the Communist Derg regime had been working for years on building one of the strongest military power in Africa.

War games before Development

Under the leadership of Mengistu Hailemariam, the Derg managed to establish powerful military capabilities at the expense of the socio-economic well-being of its citizens. All policy direction, as well as bilateral and multilateral cooperation during that time were mainly defined by the war, with the exclusive objective of crushing the rebellion. Eventually, this obsession jeopardized the very existence of the country, which was affected by its deadliest famine in the 1980s, adding thousands of deaths to the lives already lost in the scourge of civil war. The “Everything to the war front” motto of the regime weakened Ethiopia’s energy and its meager economic resources that otherwise could have been directed to the development of the country. Too busy dealing with the fierce struggle movement in the northern part of the country, the Derg regime neglected institutions and infrastructure crucial for development and failed to create a stable and prosperous nation.

In addition to destabilizing the country itself, the Communist junta was also a major destabilizing power in the Horn of Africa, in a similar way as the incumbent regime of Eritrea. The country was exposed to all sort evils of maladministration. Poverty, ethnic cleansing and arbitrary killing were common under the Derg regime. Conscription and political torture pushed many of Ethiopia’s children to leave the country, taking with them knowledge and qualifications essential for its development.

Missing Rights

The concepts of democracy and development were also alien to this administration whose main preoccupation was terrorizing its own people. Both the real or perceived relations of power and subordination among the peoples of Ethiopia led to systematic abuse and injustice. Human rights, democratization and freedom of religion were completely suppressed, placing a one-man political structure over the rule of law. Executing and imprisoning tens of thousands of its opponents without trial, designating neighboring countries and imperialism as the enemies of the country and supporting irredentist movements in the Horn of Africa were other characteristics of the regime. Assessing the fragile situation of the country, the government of Somalia led by Mohamed Siad Barre waged full-scale war against Ethiopia in 1977-78.

However, the contribution of the Derg in strengthening Pan- Africanism is worth mentioning. The late PM Meles Zenawi himself noted that “irrespective of what government ruled Ethiopia, Ethiopia has always been committed … Internally Mengestu was a butcher, but on the issue of Africa, Mengstu was as solid as Haile Selassie was”. The regime also has a good track record of reducing the illiteracy rate via basic education. But these qualities do not compensate for the years of development lost by the regime’s leadership until it was overthrown by the EPRDF and ELF in 1991.

The Prospects of Ethiopian revival

The toppling of the Derg’s powerful army by the liberation movement created worry as to the future of the country. After decades of civil war, few Ethiopians could perceive the hope and possibilities offered by the new government. Various experts even predicted the full-scale disintegration of the country. As a first step toward normalcy and stability, popular consultations were made to integrate the views of the people into the future of Ethiopia. Federalism came to be the political prescription to heal the wounds of a nation inflicted to years of suppression of its multicultural nature.

The proclaimed Constitution of 1995 established not only the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, but also guaranteed all political, social and economic rights of the people, which had been denied for long.

Poverty, a common enemy

The new structures of the state were established to respect the free will of the Ethiopian people determined and create one political and economic community. Self-governance and determination up to secession, decentralization of power and human rights are the salient features of the Constitution. After dedicating the first post-war decade to the stabilization of the country, the government was able to turn itself towards economic development. The new state had inherited from the Derg a troubled, poor and devastated country. The EPRDF leadership had no choice but to face the undeniable and sad reality of the country.

In these conditions, the persistence of poverty and the absence of good governance and democracy were quickly identified as the sole enemies of Ethiopia, and like in any war against a foreign enemy, winning these evils was considered as a matter of survival. The depth of this war was best expressed by former Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who stated: “If we must shoot and kill, we chose to shoot at poverty.” Over the years, the Agricultural- led Industrialization policy, taking the state investment and private sector as the engine of the economy, pushing for industrial development, attracting investments and heavily investing in education and health policies started to bear fruits as millions were lifted from the quagmire of poverty, as proved by Ethiopia’s MDG’s achievements. As a country, Ethiopia managed to register impressive economic developments and attracted FDI.

Opening to the world

Thanks to this remarkable transformation, today’s Ethiopia is not anymore the weakened Ethiopia of the 1980s. Imperialism and our neighboring countries are no more seen as our enemies. Contrary to past governments where all attention focused on challenges at home and minimizing external threats in relation to it, Ethiopia is now investing in mutually beneficial relationships and regional economic integration to enhance its own and its neighbors’ peace and security. Its foreign policy direction is centered on Business and Economic diplomacy. Peace and security were also prioritized to swipe our fight against poverty and backwardness. The Ethiopian people is now capable of managing gigantic projects such as the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam from their own coffers. The peaceful atmosphere of the country is allowing its citizens to tirelessly working to make Ethiopia great again. The consecutive double-digits economic growth of the last fifteen years enabled the country to inject its own finance into drought relief efforts, which was previously carried solely by the international aid. Amid stiff global competition to attract FDI, Ethiopia is now a country that managed to attract investors and create job opportunities for its nationals. While taking part in shouldering Africa’s peace and development and being vocal on the global stage, Ethiopia is sheltering over 800,000 migrants fleeing from neighboring countries.

The road ahead

However, Ethiopia’s path to economic development and democratization is not a smooth sail and difficulties remain. Both the internal and external situations affected Ethiopia’s struggle towards creating a strong nation. We have learned from our history and even from the invasion by the Eritrean government that our own internal situation determines its survival. Being located in the Horn of Africa in itself is a major challenge. The fragility of Somalia, South Sudan, Eritrea, the situation in Yemen and the recent Gulf crisis all pose a serious threat to Ethiopia. The government is well aware that sustaining our peace and development internally will not be sufficient unless it is reinforced by the stability and development of our respective neighbors.

Internally, the issues related to good governance, corruption, abuse of political power and mismanagement, extremism and terrorism remains our Achilles heel. The policies we have pursuing are still bearing fruits. However, there are visible hiccups in their implementation. The sporadic unrest that claimed the lives of our nationals and destructed properties in the country is mainly linked to this matter despite some external involvement. Taking this into account, the government swiftly evaluated itself and came up with deep renewals measures coupled with mass consultation. The deep renewal measures intend to address the shortcomings witnessed in terms of socio-economic and political challenges. More than ever, the political dialogue between the government and political parties is progressing to expand the political space and deepen our determination for democratization. The government is also taking fierce measures on its incompetent or corrupt leadership. If the country manages to implement these deep renewal measures with determination, nothing will stand in our way to progress and democracy. The country’s Growth and Transformation Plan and the overall results registered so far are clear manifestations of our zealous vision in realizing the Renaissance of our country and ultimately creating one Political and Economic Community. We hope our partners will be able to see and share this ambitious project through their bilateral and multilateral cooperation they are pursuing with Ethiopia.

Ethiopia received a “Star Reformer Award” from the World Bank Group for stellar performance on investment policy reform, promotion and its effective foreign direct investment (FDI) related reforms and resulting success.

In granting such a prestigious international recognition to Ethiopia, the World Bank appreciated the high-level political commitment the government of Ethiopia has demonstrated towards FDI attraction and facilitation through the realization of targeted policy reforms.

While receiving the new Ambassador of the EU delegation to Ethiopia, Mr. Johan Borgstam, Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu noted Ethiopia and the European Union would continue to foster the longstanding and strategic ties. Welcoming the Ambassador and wishing him success in his tenure, Dr. Workneh assured the Ambassador of the Ministry’s utmost support.

Mentioning the Ethiopia as one of the only five countries in the world with which the EU has signed strategic partnership, Ambassador Borgstam said this epitomizes the importance the EU attaches on the relations with the country.

The two sides have discussed on issues ranging from the revitalization process in South Sudan to the ongoing efforts by the government of Ethiopia in ensuring good governance in the country. In this regard, Dr. Workneh expressed his strong hope that the revitalization would bring positive changes in South Sudan. He also briefly mentioned the activities of his government in facilitating and undertaking pertinent reforms and meaningful and all inclusive public dialogues towards addressing few discontents in some parts of the country.

EU and Ethiopia have signed a strategic engagement document in June 2016 which aimed at further strengthening comprehensive dialogues.

The latest issue of the Embassy’s Magazine, The Ethiopian Messenger, is available!

Content:
Ethiopia’s Post-war Renaissance and Fight against Poverty
Ethiopia welcomes the EU decision to support the Nile Basin Initiative
EU-Africa relations, two years after the migrant crisis
Ethiopia’s governmental and institutional Human Rights policy
Industrial parks and the transformation of Ethiopia’s economy
Ethiopian Airlines’ contribution to the development of Ethiopia’s economy
Harar Jugal: Fortified Citadel and Africa’s Mecca
የዕውቀትና ቴክኖሎጂ ሽግግር ለአገር ዕድገት

You can read all the articles in the magazine below.

Press Release

On 11 September 2017, the Brussels-based NGO Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization (UNPO) published a press release by the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) on its website. One month later, on 9 October 2017, UNPO published another press release by the ONLF supporting false claims about the government of Ethiopia. This support of UNPO to the ONLF, which is listed as a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian Parliament, is unacceptable.

On its website, UNPO is stating that the transfer of Mr Abdikarin Sheikh Muse, an ONLF’s executive, from Somalia to the Ethiopian authorities entails “international and national laws violations” and that ONLF has done “efforts” “to undertake peaceful negotiations with Ethiopia”. Under this statement, UNPO is publishing a press release written by the ONLF itself.

ONLF is using violence to fight against the elected government of Ethiopia, and it has claimed the life of many innocent civilians. By instigating violence and advocating armed struggle, ONLF is a threat to the peaceful coexistence of the nations, peoples and nationalities of Ethiopia. For these reasons, it has been listed as a terrorist organization by the House of Peoples’ Representatives of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Although these facts are clear and of public knowledge, UNPO has repeatedly supported, advocated and provided a platform to ONLF and other terrorist organizations including the Oromo Liberation Front and Ginbot 7, with the support of some Members of the European Parliament. This support of UNPO to ONLF and other terrorist organizations is unacceptable and should be condemned by European authorities.

The Ethiopian people and government are working hard to create the conditions for a more prosperous and peaceful country. Over the last two decades, Ethiopia’s economy has grown tremendously, and it is one of the only African country to have achieved most of the Millennium Development Goals on time. It is now working its way to implement the Sustainable Development Goals and reach the status of a middle-income country by 2025. Its destabilization by terrorist groups would be detrimental not only to the Ethiopian people, but also the Horn of Africa region and to Europe.

− End −

Contact

Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels
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Ministers of Water Affairs of Ethiopia, Egypt and the Sudan have visited the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) Project on 17 October 2017.

Hoping to further boost the level of existing transparency and in turn uplift the confidence among the three countries with regard to the Dam, Ethiopia has facilitated the visit.

During the visit minister of water, irrigation and electricity of Ethiopia, Engineer Sileshi Bekele, explained to his counterparts about the major positive impacts the mega-project will have both in Ethiopia as well as the countries of the region upon its completion.

Commending Ethiopia for facilitating the visit, the Minister of Water Affairs of the Sudan noted this important visit signals that the cooperation between the three countries is at an improved stage than any other time.

On the next day, on 18 October 2017, a trilateral ministerial meeting took place during which the pending issues regarding the international Panel of Expert’s (IPoE) two recommended studies was discussed. During the meeting, Water Ministers of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan have drafted a guideline that would guide the activities of the two consulting firms that will conduct impact analysis.

“We have drafted the guideline on the pending issues basically on how to forward the implementation of the consultants”, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, of Ethiopia, Seleshi Bekele said.

The two French consultancy firms – BRL and Artelia – were selected to undertake the recommended studies on the possible impacts of the dam.

Seleshi said “In today’s deliberation we had certain issues that were pending and which needed the attention of the Ministers”.

According to him, the guidelines are to be finalized in the near future by reconvening at one particular spot where the date and time to be determined very soon.

The countries selected the firms to undertake the studies following the “Declaration of Principles” signed by leaders of the three countries in 2015 in Khartoum, Sudan.

Built on the Nile, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is expected to start generating hydroelectric power in the current fiscal year. Upon completion, the dam will be Africa’s largest with 6,450 MW installed power generating capacity. It is being built for an estimated cost of 4.7 billion USD, and its total volume amounts 74,000 cubic meters. Built thanks to entirely domestic funds, the dam has been considered as a landmark project signaling Ethiopia’s Renaissance.