Ethiopia expressed its readiness to push for the full implementation of the Paris Agreement on the COP25 summit, according to Ethiopian Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission.

The 25th UN Climate Change Conference kicked off December 2nd in Madrid, Spain tasked with neutralizing the threat of global warming.

In a press conference gave to journalists, Commissioner Fekadu Beyene said Ethiopia will continue to call for concreted climate action toward mitigation of climate change.

He added that Ethiopia is eager to settle the unfinished business at COP24, most importantly the rule book for market and non-market mechanism-article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Ethiopia also believed that developed countries are to leverage the means of implementation through finance, technology development and capacity building to developing countries, he added.

In this regard, his country will actively engage in reports of various constituent bodies and urge them to extend their efforts to reach out and support national actions on the ground, the Commissioner noted.

In line with this, Ethiopia set to partake in sideline events and bilateral meetings to showcase its efforts in national and international climate actions in the move to build trust in the existing development partners who supporting Ethiopia’s endeavors and expect others to do the same.

Ethiopia intends to limit its net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2030 to 145 Mt CO2e or lower.

This would constitute a 255 MtCO2e reduction from the projected ‘business-­as-‐usual’ (BAU) emissions in 2030 or a 64 percent reduction from the BAU scenario in 2030.

Moreover, the country intends to undertake adaptation initiatives to reduce the vulnerability of its population, environment, and economy to the adverse effects of climate change, based on its Climate Resilient Green Economy Strategy (CRGE).

The CRGE is Ethiopia’s strategy for addressing both climate change adaptation and mitigation objectives.

In her speech, the President emphasized the importance of supporting African entrepreneurs and more specifically women by promoting and consuming African products. The event also featured a marketplace where business owners from various countries showcased their products.

 

Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gedu Andargachew, received and held discussions with Elsie Kanza, Head of Africa World Economic Forum, at his office today.

The two exchanged views regarding the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, which will be held on 21-24 January 2020, in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.

They also discussed the 2020 World Economic Forum on Africa, which will be hosted by Ethiopia in September, according to the Spokesperson Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Gedu commended the role that WEF has been playing to sustain economic growth and improve the lives of people globally.

The Foreign Minister assured Kanza of Ethiopia’s commitment and all needed support to make the upcoming forum a success.

Elsie Kanza said the WEF annual meetings aim to engage world leaders in collaborative activities to shape the global, regional, and industry agendas at the beginning of each year.

She noted the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) will focus on addressing climate and environmental challenges as well as transforming industries to achieve more sustainable and inclusive business models.

Governing the technologies driving the fourth industrial revolution and adapting to the demographic, social, and technological trends reshaping education, employment, and entrepreneurship are also agendas of the Davos meeting, Kanza added.

According to her, the 2020 World Economic Forum on Africa will focus on boosting job creation through modernizing the agricultural sector and enhancing the agro-processing industry.

Established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the WEF is the international organization for public-private cooperation.

It engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.

 

The 8th African Space Leadership Congress (ASLC) on Space Science and Technology for Sustainable Development kicked off in Addis Ababa today.

The three-day event is being held under the theme “Prospects and Challenges of African Space Development.”

The congress is aimed at capitalizing efforts of African nations on space technologies to address key socio-economic challenges and harnessing the opportunities that space science and technology could provide.

Ethiopia’s Minister of Innovation and Technology, Dr.-Ing. Getahun Mekuria remarked at the event that African countries need to join hands to improve and benefit from space technologies.

He further urged them to allocate sufficient budget to the sector.

The meeting attracted professionals, politicians, business people and companies of the space industry, youth and women from all African countries and international collaborating nations as well as the public and private space institutions.

Water minister of Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt have met in Cairo to discuss on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Representatives of the U.S. Government and the World Bank Group are also attending the meeting as observers.

The two-day meeting will focus on issues raised regarding the dam during the meeting held on November 15 and 16 in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

The Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy of Ethiopia last month announced the completion of construction of the saddle dam of GERD.

The completion of the 50m high and 5.2km long concrete faced rockfill dam (CRFD) is an important milestone for the project, said Dr Engineer Seleshi Bekele, Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy.

The ancillary work to the CFRD such as grouting and finishing works on audits will be soon finalized, the Minister said.

Ethiopia envisaged finalizing the project, which is being built in Benishangul Gumuz regional state on Abay (Nile) river in 2023.

At the end of the works, it will be the largest dam in Africa.

The new head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will visit Ethiopia this weekend as part of her first trip to Africa after assuming the EU presidency.

“On Friday, I am going to do my first trip outside the EU. That will be to Africa,” she told journalists in Brussels, in another symbolic move meant to show Europe’s increased focus on the continent.

During her stay in Addis Ababa, Von der Leyen is expected to meet President Sahlework Zewdie and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

She will also meet Moussa Faki Mahmat, Chairman of the African Union Commission, to explore further cooperation with the continental body.

The EU is a major trading partner with, and donor to, African countries.

EU has promised more investment to the continent to better tap its economic potential and stem the flow of African economic migrants who attempt perilous crossings of the Mediterranean to reach Europe.

Furthermore, the president is expected to attend the opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known formally as COP25 that will held in Madrid, Spain.

She has set high targets in the European Union’s policy to combat climate change, pledging to reduce the bloc’s carbon emissions by at least 50 percent by 2030.

She disclosed that her objective is to make Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050, meaning carbon emissions should be fully offset by measures that cut CO2, like planting trees.

Ethiopia is elected as a member of the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for the next four years.The 22nd General Assembly of the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention held two-day meeting starting yesterday at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.During the session, the General Assembly elected nine new members to the World Heritage Committee, namely Egypt, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Oman, Thailand, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia and South Africa, according to the website of UNESCO.

Accordingly, the current World Heritage Committee consists of Australia, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Spain, Thailand, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Uganda.

The Ethiopian Embassy in Brussels hosted a panel discussion this Thursday November 28^th on Private Equity Investment in Ethiopia at the premises of the Embassy.

The intention of the event organized by Ethiopian Embassy and Brussels-Africa Hub was to highlight advantages for investors, decision-makers of the European investment community interested in new opportunities in emerging Ethiopian market.

Dr Belachew Mekuria, former Commissioner of Ethiopian Investment Commission moderated the panel discussion on Private Equity Investment in Ethiopia.

On the occasion, Mr. Zemedeneh Negatu, Chairman of Fairfax Africa Fund, Mr. Yassine Benjelloun, Portfolio Manager of 54 Capital and Mr. Thierry Viale, President Europe at Ontex (CanBebe Ethiopia) and H.E. Ambassador Grum Abay, Special Envoy, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to Belgium, Luxembourg and E.U. were the panelists in the Seminar.

In his opening remarks during the Private Equity Investment in Ethiopia, H.E. Ambassador Grum Abay, stated, “The government has taken a series of measures to shift the economic landscape of Ethiopia, such as reforms in investment laws and business climate, which have helped remove regulatory obstacles that hamper investment”.

H.E. Ambassador Grum highlighted that Ethiopia is one of the lowest recipients of private equity on the African continent and it has been making a narrative change of investment administration and improving the investment bureaucracy for private equity investment and venture capitalists.

“This seminar and panel discussion will provide us with practical approaches on how to further develop this area in Ethiopia”, he added.

During the panel discussion, Ethiopia as an African champion, Private Equity returns, incentives for private equity investments, and an Ethiopian deal from sourcing to exiting (perspective from a private equity firm and from an investee/seller) were some of the topics discussed by the panelists and representatives of 21 companies who participated in the event.

The panelists of the seminar shared their knowledge, business experiences and the challenges they encountered while investing in Ethiopia.

Finally, the panelists and H.E. Ambassador Grum addressed the questions raised by the participants of the seminar.

Statement by Minister of Education of Ethiopia on girls’ education

Statement on girls’ education by Tilaye Gete, Minister of Education of Ethiopia, following the Foreign Affairs Council (Development), on 25 November 2019, in Brussels.

http://nwsr.eu/p/215405