Ethiopia and Norway signed yesterday a grant agreement amounting 180 million Norwegian kroner (about €19 million) to support Ethiopia’s Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy.
Admasu Nebebe, Ethiopia’s State Minister of Finance and Mr Jens Frølich Holte, the State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, signed the agreement.
According to the agreement, the grant will support the sustainable use of land and climate-smart agriculture to the benefit of Ethiopia’s economy and people.
The grant is also part of Norway’s commitment to support the implementation of Ethiopia’s climate resilient green economy strategy, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
The governments of Ethiopia and Norway are long-term partners in the fight against global climate change.
Norway, together with the United Kingdom, pledged support to Ethiopia’s ambitious CRGE, at its launch in 2011.
Since then, the government of Norway has made available support to Ethiopia’s forests, agriculture and energy sectors amounting to more than 150 million US dollars.
Bethlehem Tilahun Alemu has a dream: that everyone should one day taste hand-roasted Ethiopian coffee.
Widely acknowledged as the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia is one of the world’s largest coffee bean producers and Africa’s top grower of the plant. Coffee is also brewed and drank in the Horn of Africa nation in elaborate ceremonies, often using crafting techniques passed down from generations over centuries. As an entrepreneur, Alemu always wanted to replicate this dynamic experience—what she calls “the magical process”—to coffee lovers worldwide.
And so was born in 2016 the idea for Garden of Coffee, a brand that uses artisanal methods to source, process, roast, and package Ethiopia’s legendary beans. Twenty workers at the company’s atelier in Addis Ababa currently oversee this activity, roasting five types of coffee beans only for individual orders and shipping them to over 20 countries including Russia, Sweden, Germany, and the United States.
This personalised roasting, Alemu says, helps preserve the quality of the coffee for the final customer, reduces the ecological footprint associated with factory roasting, and creates a business model that values local manufacturing. This is especially vital as Ethiopia takes crucial steps in improving governance and accelerating poverty reduction and economic growth through job creation.
China-bound
Alemu is now venturing out of Ethiopia. In August, Garden of Coffee launched in China, a tea-loving market that is increasingly turning towards coffee. Starbucks, Coca-Cola, e-commerce giant Alibaba, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, and local Chinese start-up Luckin Coffee have in recent years all bet big on China’s nascent coffee scene. Java House, East Africa’s largest chain of coffee shops, also said in August it would capitalise on this increased demand for specialty coffee to supply the Chinese market.
Through a deal with Suzhou Reyto trading company, GOC says it will ship 12 tons of hand-roasted coffee to China in the first year. The company has also launched advertisement and marketing on the multi-purpose messaging and social media app WeChat, will soon place its product on the shopping site Taobao. But it’s big plan is to open over 100 café roasteries across China by 2022. Through a subscription service, customers will also be able to receive their favorite coffee of choice in one, two, or four-week intervals.
By embracing traditional Ethiopian roasting methods and taking them globally, Alemu says she hopes to shape the “fourth wave” that is defining coffee’s evolution. The first wave involved the mass drinking of the brew, the second grew with the rise of a coffee culture through brands like Starbucks, while the third focused on artisanal coffee making. The fourth wave now focuses less on commercialization, more on long-term sustainability, besides promoting and preserving local ways of farming. Placing Ethiopian coffee at the heart of this movement is only pragmatic, argues Alemu. But it is also a judicious growth strategy: because of demand, Garden of Coffee is set to increase its hand-roasting artisans to 300 by 2021.
“We are doing this not only because hand-roasting coffee is an ancient art that we strongly feel is worth preserving and promoting, but because we believe this method of coffee roasting is the key to unlocking Ethiopian coffee’s true magical tastes,” says Alemu. “That’s the critical distinction.”
The Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund (EDTF) Advisory Council is pleased to announce the launch of the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund on October 22, 2018, through its official website https://www.ethiopiatrustfund.org/
The Council has been acutely aware of the eagerness of diaspora Ethiopians to respond to Prime Minister H.E. Abiy Ahmed’s call for USD$1 a day to help support critically needed social projects in Ethiopia.
In establishing the EDTF, the Council had to incorporate a non-profit charity organisation, create a bank account, negotiate with online payment systems and other funding platforms, comply with various regulations and establish governance, management and implementation procedures for maximum accountability and transparency. The Council has been able to achieve these tasks speedily.
The Council thanks the global diaspora Ethiopian communities for their patience and unwavering support for the EDTF.
The Council urges Diaspora Ethiopian diaspora, friends of Ethiopia and others interested in advancing freedom, democracy, human rights and good governance and the EDTF to make their USD$1 contributions in one lump sum payment of USD$365 to build-up contributions for immediate commitment to launch projects. As H.E. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has explained, for the Fund to be successful, it requires the long-term commitment of Ethiopians of the diaspora.
Please visit our website to learn about the Fund and make a donation to support the EDTF at https://www.ethiopiatrustfund.org/
Special Notice: The Council is aware that there are efforts to raise money in the name of the Ethiopian Diaspora Trust Fund. The EDTF, which is established by the Council, is the one and only official Fund set up at the behest of H.E. Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed on August 9, 2018.
Contact: info@ethiopiatrustfund.org
The Italian apparel/fashion manufacturer company Calzedonia Group inaugurated ITACA Textile Plc., a 15-million USD investment, in Ashegoda, near Mekelle city, Tigray Regional State, on Friday 19 October.
This is Calzedonia’s first factory on the African continent.
In terms of job creation, the factory will offer employment opportunities to 1300 people and is currently exporting 22 million Ethiopian birr worth of products every month.
During the inauguration, ITACA CEO Federico Fraboni said the factory has already started exporting clothes to different European countries.
Calzedonia specializes in hosiery, leggings, socks, and swimwear for women, men, and kids.
The location of the factory has proximity to Eritrea’s Massawa port and is expected to contribute to regional economic growth.
Mekelle Industrial Park which was constructed at the cost of 100 million dollars and inaugurated in 2017 is housing the factory.
According to the Investment Director at Tigray Trade, Industry and Urban Development Bureau, Haftom Fantahunegn, two additional textile factories will start production soon.
On Sunday 21 October, the government of Ethiopia and the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) signed a peace deal in the Eritrean capital Asmara, that officially ended one of the oldest arms struggles in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian delegation was led by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Workneh Gebeyehu, whereas the ONLF side was led by the Front’s Chairman, Admiral Mohamed Umer Usman. The two held a productive discussion and reached a historic deal that allowed the ONLF to undertake peaceful political struggle in Ethiopia. Indeed, this is the beginning of a new chapter of peace and stability in Ethiopia, particularly in Somali regional state, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The ONLF had launched its bid for the secession of the Somali Region, also known as Ogaden, in eastern Ethiopia in 1984.
Earlier this year, the parliament removed the ONLF from a list of banned movements as part of a reform drive being led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has extended an olive branch to several armed groups. The ONLF declared a ceasefire in August.
The agreement stipulates that both sides would end hostilities and that the ONLF would “pursue its political obligations through peaceful means”.
The two sides will now form a joint committee to discuss the root causes of the conflict, the agreement said.
The Ogaden region contains four trillion cubic feet of gas and oil deposits, the government says. China’s POLY-GCL Petroleum has been developing two gas fields there since 2013.
On the occasion of the Great Ethiopian Run (GRE), the annual 10-kilometre road running event which takes place in late November in Addis Ababa, Ethiopian Airlines is offering flight tickets starting from $799!
For more information, visit www.ethiopianholidays.com
Contact the nearest Ethiopian Airlines Office, your travel agent or call Ethiopian at +251-11-665-6666
A roadmap was designed to help the implementation of the peace process in South Sudan.
State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hirut Zemene briefed partners on the implementation of South Sudan’s peace process yesterday.
On this occasion, the State Minister noted that a roadmap had been designed to help the implementation of South Sudan’s peace process.
Hirut stressed the significance of endorsing the peace agreement by all warring parties and commended the partners for their constructive engagement for helping achieve peace and stability in South Sudan.
IGAD member states also demonstrated their full commitment to the peace process in the country more than ever, she added.
The State Minister also revealed that the IGAD Chiefs of Staff will convene in Khartoum on October 22, 2018, and would come up with a proposal on the next step to be taken.
IGAD Special Envoy to South Sudan, Ambassador Ismail Wais said IGAD member countries are now on the same page with regard to South Sudan’s peace process.
This has been evident in their commitment and support to the implementation of the peace agreement, he added.
He further commended partners for supporting the implementation of the peace process in South Sudan.
The Foreign Affairs Ministers of Eritrea and Ethiopia arrived in Mogadishu on Wednesday, October 17, to appeal to all stakeholders in Somalia to work towards the peace and stability in the country.
Somalia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ahmed Isse Awad received his counterparts, Osman Saleh, Eritrea; and Workneh Gebeyehu, Ethiopia, on their arrival at the airport.
This meeting is the latest sign of the strengthening of relations across the Horn of Africa and is a boost for regional cooperation, diplomacy and security.
The current visit forms a marked departure from past politics in the region where different actors have been supporting different factions within Somalia, creating further chaos and making Somalia ungovernable.
If the current trends continue, this will likely have a significant effect on Somalia’s slow return to a more unified and stable nation.
During the visit, the two foreign ministers held talks with Mohammed Abdulahi Mohammed Farmajo, President of Somalia, and with Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khayre.
In a joint press statement issued after the discussion, the foreign ministers of Ethiopia and Eritrea reaffirmed their firm support for the government and people of Somalia.
They also called upon the international community to support the government of Somalia to pursue much-needed reforms and its progress towards recovery.
The last time the three ministers met in the region was in Asmara after their leaders signed a tripartite cooperation agreement. The trio was dispatched to Djibouti to mediate in soured relations between Eritrea and Djibouti.
The Ethiopian government-owned industrial enterprise, Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC), is going to be reorganised with a new name. The Corporation was established by the Council of Ministers to advance Ethiopia’s industrialisation drive.
METEC came under hot water recently for the delay it caused to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed himself singled it out as one responsible for the project delay. METEC later lost its contract for the GERD. Billions of Ethiopian birr were wasted due to the failure of the corporation to complete the projects as per scheduled time.
Because of the company’s poor performance, the new administration of Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has taken different measures, starting from changing the leadership of the Corporation.
According to Abdulaziz Mohammed, Commercial and Civil Products Operation Deputy Director at the Corporation, the reform aims at improving the structure of the Corporation.
Industries that have been manufacturing military equipment under the auspices of METEC will be transferred to the Ministry of Defense. The rest will remain under the Corporation.
Accordingly, METEC will now manufacture civil and commercial products under a new name – the National Metal Engineering Corporation.
A draft regulation has been prepared to reorganise the Corporation, and the decision will be applied once approved by the Council of Ministers.
Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC) has 14 industries under it and as per the new draft regulation, it will transfer four of them to the Ministry of Defense.
The four industries are Homicho Ammunition Engineering Industry, Dejen Aviation Industry, Gafat Armament Engineering Industry, and Hi-tech Engineering Industry
Ethiopia’s parliament – The House of Peoples Representatives, HPR, was meeting this morning to discuss a range of issues tabled by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, including the approval of a new downsized cabinet as agreed by the Council of Ministers last week. The new cabinet posts were reduced from 28 to 20.
It also created new ministries reflecting the government priorities, such as the Ministry of Peace.
“The main problem in this country is the lack of peace. This peace ministry will be working hard to ensure it prevails,” Mr Abiy told deputies.
A few of the ministries are going to merge. Among the notable ones, the Ministry of Trade will join with the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Science and Technology is to unite with the Ministry of Communications and Information. The Construction Ministry, for its part, will join the Ministry of Urban Development.
On this occasion, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also announced the names of his new Ministers. The new ministerial portfolio will have a record number of female ministers consisting 10 out of the 20 ministers. This includes the position of Minister of defence, which will be held by a woman for the first time in history.
HPR speaker Muferiat Kamil will assume the new ministerial portfolio, Ministry of Peace; Workneh Gebeyehu will remain as minister of Foreign Affairs; and Ahmed Shide will become Minister of Finance, where he was a state minister before moving to communication.
Ahmed dissolved the Government Communication Affairs Office, which was led by Ahmed Shide with ministerial portfolio and instated it under the Prime Minister’s office.
Muferiat’s Ministry of Peace will oversee the National Intelligence & Security Service (NISS); Information Network Security Agency (INSA); Federal Police Commission; & Finance Security & Info. Center. It will also assume the roles of Federal & Pastoralist Deve’t Affairs.
The following agencies will be under the auspices of the House of People’s Representatives (HPR): Ethiopian News Agency (ENA); Ethiopian Broadcasting Authority (EBA); Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA); Federal anti-corruption commission; & Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation.
