Two border crossings between Ethiopia and Eritrea reopened on Tuesday 11 September, strengthening a promise of reconciliation between the countries’ leaders after a border war and 20 years of bitter relations.

In the presence of their defence forces, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki opened the frontier at Bure, at the easternmost end of their common border. It was once an area of intense fighting.

The ceremony coincided with celebrations for the Ethiopian New Year.

“We heralded the new year by demolishing the trenches along our border,” Abiy told media. “As of today, Ethiopia’s defence forces (along the border with Eritrea) will be gathered to camps and ease the tension that was often extreme. The same will be done from the Eritrean side.”

Video and photos emerged of people embracing, dancing and weeping as flags of both nations flapped in the breeze.

Some analysts have compared the events to fall of the Berlin Wall. Families that were separated on either side of the border are finally able to reconnect. The border reopening will also bring back trade. Bure gives landlocked Ethiopia access to Red Sea ports. The other reopened crossing, in the frontier town of Zalambessa, is northwest of Bure and on a major trade route between the countries.

The path toward peace began shortly after Abiy took office. In July, he stepped off a plane in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, and hugged its president. Together they rewrote the future of their countries by signing a peace deal.

The reopening of the border is the latest sign that the once icy relations have thawed. The summer saw telephone connections restored, the first commercial flight in 20 years from Ethiopia to Eritrea and embassies reopening in the capitals.

The Chief of Staff for the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Fitsum Arega, called the border reopening “the full normalization” of relations. He said that with roads linking the countries open, “our recent tragic history is coming to an end.”

“This is the happiest day of my life,” Ruta Haddis, an Eritrean who lives near Zalambessa, told media. “I never thought this would take place in my lifetime.”

 

Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed said that China has agreed to extend debt repayment period for Addis Ababa-Djibouti cross-border railway.

According to him, China has pledged to extend the debt repayment period for a loan it has acquired to construct the Ethio-Djibouti railway from 10 to 30 years.

Mentioning that Ethiopia has received a considerable amount of loan and investment from China, the two countries held extensive discussions on ways of balancing the trade volume between Ethiopia and China, he stated.

Prime Minster Abiy who was in Beijing to attend the 7th Forum on China-Africa Cooperation had a bilateral dialogue with Chinese officials. Notably, the two sides agreed on extending loan payment, revising interest rates and identifying options that enable to shift from loan to development assistance, he indicated.

He noted that “During our stay in China, we have got a chance to make some adjustment on some types of loans, we gained especially an opportunity on the Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway.”

“We conducted wide ranges of discussions with China especially how can we balance the trade volume between the two counties and increase our export products to China through expanding the destination for Ethiopian Airlines,” the Premier added.

Moreover, the two parties have reached an agreement on loan adjustments of some projects and expand assistance, he said.

Upon his arrival to Addis Ababa, the Premier briefed journalists on his trip to China which he said was successful and fruitful. He noted that Ethiopia participated in the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and was also invited for an official visit to China.

On the sidelines of the FOCAC, Ethiopia conducted successful bilateral discussions with different countries and international organisations including China; he pointed out.

He stated that Beijing is pledging to extend new funding worth 60 billion USD to Africa, aimed at supporting African inclusive development, adding that Ethiopia will exert a maximum effort to utilise its fair-share from the assistance.

“We need to have a better position and readiness to best benefit from the allocated resource (60 billion USD),” he pointed out.

China also says it will cancel a substantial amount of debts wipe for certain African countries when interest-free loans come due later this year.

Addis Ababa City Roads Authority signed over 1.2 billion Birr road designing and road construction agreements with six constructors and five consultancy companies.

The agreements are aimed to construct 25.32 km new asphalt concrete roads, 74 km road construction supervision and consultancy services, and 156 km new road construction designing works in different parts of the city.

Speaking on the signing ceremony, the Authority Director-General Engineer Moges Tibebu said that the construction of the roads is part of the city’s three years Road Master Plan that adopted in 2017.

In this regard, the Authority is preparing various modern road designs by identifying the roads in different parts of the city, he said.

The Director-General added that the road construction projects will further facilitate flexible traffic movements and increases new road coverage in the city.

The Oromia, Amhara, Benishangul Gumuz and Gambella regional states have pardoned a total of more than 8,875 inmates in connection with the Ethiopian New Year.

Ethiopia will celebrate its 2011 New Year (2018/19) tomorrow.

The Oromia and Amhara regional state pardoned 5,325 and 3,000 prisoners, respectively.

Meanwhile Gambella and Benishangul Gumuz regional state pardoned over 370 and 188 inmates, respectively.

Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somali leaders held a tripartite meeting in the Eritrean capital Asmara yesterday.

Following the meeting, the leaders signed a Joint Cooperation Agreement.

They agreed to foster comprehensive cooperation that advances the goals of their peoples and build close political, economic, social, cultural and security ties.

Moreover, the three leaders agreed to work in coordination to promote regional peace and security.

They also established a Joint High-Level Committee to coordinate their efforts.

 

Ethiopia has officially reopened its embassy in Asmara, Eritrea today.  This is the latest development is a significant leg of a peace deal reached in July 2018. The leaders jointly raised the Ethiopian flag in front of the embassy as a military band played the Ethiopian anthem. PM Abiy Ahmed stopped in Eritrea on his way back from Beijing where he attended the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

The opening ceremony was attended by Eritrean officials and the diplomatic community in Asmara.
Ethiopia appointed Redwan Hussein as its ambassador to Eritrea. Eritrea reopened its Embassy in Addis Ababa last July.

 

 

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed returned to Eritrea this morning.

PM Abiy was welcomed by Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki and has since visited the port of Assab and the 71km long road which stretches from Ethiopian border to the port. He is also expected to visit the port of Massawa this afternoon.

Abiy last left Eritrea on July 9 after a historic visit during which both countries signed a peace deal ending years of war.

The last time both men met was in the United Arab Emirates where the crown prince awarded them gold medals for their respective roles in ending the state of war.

As part of the peace deal that was reached, both countries were to reestablish all friendly and diplomatic relations including trade and cultural ties.

Ethiopia and Eritrea in July agreed to develop ports on Eritrea’s Red Sea coast jointly, Ethiopia’s state broadcaster said in July, roads connecting the two countries were also being worked on after years of non-use.

Prime Minister Abiy arrived in Asmara in the afternoon after wrapping up his visits to Assab and Massawa, where he expressed his deep appreciation of the ongoing preparatory work by the Eritrean government to enhance port services and related road infrastructure.

“Progress in this component augurs well for efforts of both sides to ensure full implementation of all five pillars of the agreement,” he said.

Beijing is preparing to host the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit to be held from 3-4 September 2018. The event will not only be an occasion to evaluates prior activities and actions but also sets expectations and draw a frame for the future direction of Sino-Africa bilateral relationships.

Themed “China and Africa : Toward an Even Stronger Community with a Shared Future through Win-Win Cooperation,” the upcoming FOCAC Summit will focus on five goals namely strengthened friendship between China and Africa, chart the course for developing future relations by synergising « the Belt and Road » Initiative, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, in order to build a stronger community and achieve a win-win cooperation between China and Africa.

It will also be question of promoting economic and trade cooperation, the idea being that cooperation be market-oriented instead of government-led and expand to production capacity from commodity trading.

The Beijing summit will discuss a coordinated and balanced development of their cooperation. They will also promote South-South cooperation, seeking new cooperation between developing countries and securing stronger international support for their efforts.

According to H.E.M Grum Abay, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia in Belgium, The FOCAC summit is a very good platform for African leaders to really discuss and looking to matters that need correction, issues that require new directions. « It gives us an opportunity to discuss what we have been able to achieve in the past three years since the last summit, and to make the next steps of the cooperation which corresponded to the new realities that both China, Africa and individual African countries are facing in terms of their own bilateral relations with China also. I think it’s very important platform for the future cooperation between Africa and China », The Ambassador said.

« The expectations are in my view from this summit, how can we proceed forward in using this plateform to once again assist us in those developemental endeavours of African countries with basically the regards, creation of jobs, industrialisation, manufacturing sectors. I beleive that the Chineese are aware of these expectations in African countries and as usual, they will come to meet us half way along this part, I beleive », he added.

Concerning « the belt and road » initiative, the 2030 UN objectives and the 2063 African Union objectives put together in order to built a common destiny between China and Africa, H.E. Ambassador Grum Abay said « with the type of experience that we have had so far in engaging with the Chineese and the results that we have witnessed in this cooperation, I think the African side will do its best in achieving results in these three projects taken together otherwise it is just going to be desastrous ».

The FOCAC which takes place every three years alternatively in China and Africa aims to promote diplomatic, trade, security and investment relations between China and African countries. It was established in 2000, as an effective mechanism for collective dialogue and multilateral cooperation between China and Africa. It has established an important framework and platform for the building of the new type of partnership between the two parties featuring long-term stability, equality and mutual benefits.

Source: Brussels Information Press

Ethiopia will open its logistics sector to foreign investors, but cap their participation, the state investment body said on Tuesday 4 September in the latest reform to loosen the government’s control of the economy.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has presided over a shake-up of one of the most heavily-regulated economies in Africa since his appointment in April.

But while Ethiopia has introduced incentives such as tax holidays and subsidised loans to boost investment, the country still has a low ranking in World Bank global trade logistics indexes.

The latest move by the Ethiopian Investment Board – a body headed by Abiy and comprised of several ministers and the central bank governor – lifted restrictions on foreign investment in packaging, forwarding and shipping agency services.

Those sectors were previously reserved exclusively for Ethiopian nationals. Foreign firms will now be allowed to take stakes of up to 49 per cent in logistics businesses.

The Ethiopian Investment Commission, a government body that handles investment issues such as licensing and promotion, said opening up this sector to foreign investors had become necessary.

This will “improve the provision of high-end logistics services while local firms acquire world-class knowledge, expertise, management, and systems by working jointly with globally reputed logistics providers,” it said in a statement.

The ruling EPRDF coalition, in power since 1991, has long supported deep state involvement. But it said earlier this year that Ethiopia needed economic reforms to sustain rapid growth and boost exports amid a severe hard currency shortage.

Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed met with Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of China-Africa Cooperation Forum which is underway in Beijing.

The Primer told President Xi Jinping that China is the “leading development partner of Ethiopia” and that Ethiopia would like to share China’s experience of administrative practices.

Abiy also expressed gratitude for what China has been doing to Ethiopia in recent years and that Ethiopia will be an active participant in China’s Belt and Road initiatives.

Xi Jinping on his part said, “China is willing to continue support projects that ensure mutual benefit for both countries” He also pointed out the relation between the two countries is elevated to the level of strategic partnership. He also requested the Ethiopian Prime Minister to work in cooperation on regional and international matters.

In addition, leaders of the two countries discussed topics ranging from Human Resource Development to Foreign Direct Investment to Agro-Business and natural gas.

China is the leading FDI investor in Ethiopia which amounts to nearly 20 % of Foreign Direct Investment in the country.

Prime Minister Abiy also met with the presidents of Rwanda, Sudan and Egypt and discussed bilateral issues, according to a report by Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation.