38 leaders of member states of the African Union have confirmed attendance at the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government.

Preparations are finalized to host the leaders, officials and other guests, Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced today.

“A total of 45 leaders and ministers have confirmed their participation to the sessions till yesterday,” Acting Director of Protocol Affairs, Gisila Shawel, said.

Of the total confirmed leaders and ministers, 31 are presidents, 4 prime ministers, and 3 vice presidents as well as 7 foreign ministers, he added.

Prime ministers of Canada, Norway, and Palestine will also participate in the session.

High-level global officials, including UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom, will take part in the session, it was learned.

Up until yesterday, 8,700 persons were registered online to attend the sessions.

The acting director said full preparations in terms of logistics, accommodation, security and other services are made to receive and host all the participants.

Five-star hotels like Sheraton Addis, Hilton, Sky Light, Capital, Hayat, Radisson Blu, and Marriott are ready to accommodate participants.

The 34^th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council and 33^rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union will begin on February 6  and 9, respectively.

Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed today (February 4th) inaugurated Genale-Dawa III hydropower project.

The Genale-Dawa III hydropower project, which was built on the Dawa River in Southeast Ethiopia, has a total installed generating capacity of 254 MW.

The power project was built with an outlay of 451 million USD, out of which about 67.8 million USD was covered by the government of Ethiopia, while the remaining was covered by a loan.

The hydropower project was launched in 2010, the 110 meters high and 426-meter long dam has the capacity to hold 2.5 billion cubic meters of water, it was noted.

The project was temporarily suspended for more than a year due to certain setbacks pertinent to the resettlement of residents living close to the dam.

The completion of the power project will increase the country’s electric power generation capacity to 4654 MW from the existing 4,200MW.

The constructional work of the Genale-Dawa III hydropower project was undertaken by China Gezhouba Group.

Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister, Sileshi Bekele, Oromia Regional State Vice President, Shimels Abdisa and other senior federal and regional officials have also presided over the inaugural ceremony of the power project.

Finance Ministers of Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, and Somalia met on February 3rd in Djibouti to discuss policy directives that seek to foster economic integration and regional cooperation in the Horn of Africa.

In the two-day meeting, the ministers will evaluate the joint trade and investment activities undertaken since the five countries came together to launch the Horn of Africa Initiative last year.

After considering the global experiences in regional integration, the countries will discuss ways to search sources of finance for the $15 billion required to foster cooperation.

In today’s session, they evaluated the progress made in the implementation of the deals signed in transport, power and digital infrastructures as encouraging, according to a statement the Ministry of Finance sent to FBC today.

In his remarks, Dr Eyob Tekalign, Ethiopia’s State Minister of Finance said, the countries should do more to create employment opportunities for the youth and expand infrastructures.

He further underscored the need to seize the wind of change blowing through the Horn of Africa to improve the lives of the people who have been affected for a long period.

The five countries launched the Horn of Africa Initiative last year during the World Bank Group / the International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meetings held in Washington DC.

They agreed to take forward discussions on fostering economic integration and regional cooperation, with the support of the European Union, the African Development Bank, and the World Bank.

President Sahle-Work Zewde has praised UNESCO for its ability to bring together people from across the world to work together to tackle problems.

“UNESCO has, as it always does, brought relevant stakeholders from all over the world to exchange ideas and deliberate on next steps,” she stated.

She was speaking at UNESCO’s International Commission on the Futures of Education meeting held to take stock of the global situation in education today and what can be predicted for 2050 and beyond.

The International Commission, chaired by President Sahle-Work, held its first meeting on 28 and 29 January 2020 at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

The President also reminded commission members of the high expectations placed on them and emphasized the importance of looking beyond “our current global state to craft a long lasting structure for education.”

The Futures of Education is the latest in a series of global reports commissioned by UNESCO every quarter a century to grapple with the challenges and opportunities that the future holds in store and to inspire change.

The Commission meets next in September 2020 and in the meantime will be engaging with people and ideas from around the world.

Ethiopia bagged seven medals at the first-ever Special Olympics Pan African Games.

Ethiopia earned two gold, one silver and four bronze medals in the competition that took place in Cairo, Egypt from 23-31 January 2020.

 

 

Four suspected cases of coronavirus in Ethiopia have tested negative, according to the Ministry of Health.

“The test results of the 4 suspected cases sent to South Africa have become negative for the virus,” said Lia Tadesse, State Minister of Health.

As part of the efforts to prevent the virus, the country has started screening of passengers for the virus at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

Individual temperature measurement and form filling for passengers from China and other ten affected countries are being conducted at the airport.

China reported its biggest single-day jump in coronavirus deaths on Thursday. The death toll rose to 170 on Thursday, up from 132 reported on Wednesday, a rise of 29%.

The number of confirmed cases in China now stands at 7,711, up from 5,974 a day earlier.

የህዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት የተሻሻለውን የኢንቨስትመንት አዋጅ አፀደቀ።

የኢፌዴሪ የህዝብ ተወካዮች ምክር ቤት በትናንትናው እለት ባካሄደው 12ኛ መደበኛ ስብሰባው በተሻሻለው የኢንቨስትመንት አዋጅ ላይ ተወያይቷል።

Ethiopia has earned over 1.3 billion USD revenue from the export of various products during the past six months, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Briefing journalists today, Ministry Public Relations and Communication Director Wondimu Filate said the stated revenue shows about 10 percent growth when compared to the 1.21 billion USD during the same period last year.

The revenue obtained in the period is, however, below the planned 1.66 billion USD, it was learned.

According to the director, the income is generated from coffee, cereal, textile, chat, oilseed, spice, flower, leather, livestock, and other products exported to 137 countries.

Somalia, the Netherlands, and the USA were the major export destination countries for Ethiopian products.

Wondimu stated that the export commodities coffee, chat, spice, flower, fruit and vegetables, leather and leather products registered increased income as compared to the same period last year.

The export performance of livestock, gold, pharmaceuticals, milk, meat, honey, and chemical and construction materials are low, the director said.

Efforts are underway to create an enabling environment for ease of doing business in order to increase export, according to the director.

The online trade registration and the licensing system started is expected to improve the performance of the export sector that has been declining.

The low performance in the sector is the result of lack of foreign exchange, security, a modern trading system as well as insufficient agricultural supply, among others, the director noted.

The country is working to become a member of World Trade Organization and ratifies the Continental Free Trade Area agreement, it was learned.

In stark contrast to its export, Ethiopia imports 15 billion USD products annually, it was learned.

The Heads of State and Government of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia met in Asmara, on 27 January, 2020.
The three leaders held candid and extensive discussions on the situations in their respective countries, their tripartite cooperation and developments in the Horn of Africa region.
The three leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the Tripartite Agreement they signed in September 2018 and reviewed the outcomes of their considerable joint efforts towards its implementation.
The three leaders adopted a Joint Plan of Action for 2020 and beyond focusing on the two main and intertwined objectives of consolidating peace, stability and security as well as promoting economic and social development. They also agreed to bolster their joint efforts to foster effective regional cooperation.
On the security front, the three leaders formulated a comprehensive plan to combat and neutralize the common threats they face, including terrorism, arms and human trafficking and drugs smuggling.
Regarding economic and social development, they agreed to prioritize the mobilization of their bountiful human and natural resources; build, modernize and interface their infrastructure and develop their productive and service sectors. They also expressed their appreciation for, and their readiness to cooperate with, their friends and partners, on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefit.
The three leaders agreed to closely consult with their Brothers, Heads of State, for the realization of the aspiration of their peoples for effective Horn of Africa.