Followers of Ethiopian Orthodox Church are elated as the fourth Patriarch returned home after 27 years in exile.

The Fourth Patriarch of Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Abune Merkorios, arrived today in Addis Ababa after 27 years in exile. He was on the same flight with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and some members of his cabinet who were touring three cities in the United States.

He lived in the United States throughout his exile live occasionally visiting congregations in other cities.

Upon arrival at Bole International Airport, Abune Merkorios was warmly greeted Abune Mathias, the sixth patriarch of Ethiopia, senior government officials and the Ethiopian church faithful.

As well, a spiritual welcome ceremony was organised in the morning at Kiddist Selassie Menbere Tsebaot (Holy Trinity Cathedral Church) in the capital.

On August 4, the Ethiopian church has organised another reconciliation conference at the Millennium Hall which will be attended by both patriarchs. Twenty-five thousand Ethiopians are expected to participate in the event.

The patriarch’s decisions to return home came after a negotiation process between what used to be the Holy Synod based in Ethiopia and the Holy Synod in the United States reached an agreement last week to end the schism within the church.

The Ethiopian church has declared the unity of the Holy Synod, and there will not be two synods. And Holy Synod lifted the excommunication that was in effect for well over two decades.

Remarking on the development, the Abune Mathias said, “He is very happy that the reconciliation effort was finally a success…and he is personally very happy that reunification of the church happened at this time.”

As per the arrangement in the agreement, the fourth patriarch is to lead the spiritual service while the sixth patriarch is to carry out administrative functions.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is credited for taking a keen interest and following up closely the negotiation process which is believed to have speeded up the reunification of the church. He, in fact, witnessed while the reunification was declared from Water Gate Hotel in Washington DC.

In a statement, he gave shortly after arrival at Bole International Airport; the prime minister said his visit to the United States was a success. Lemma Megersa, his former boss, comrade within Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO) and president of Oromo regional state, also rated the US tour as a success and asserted that “it is not possible to exclude Ethiopians in the Diaspora from the task of building the country.”

Ethiopia has secured 3.5 billion USD from tourism in the last Ethiopian fiscal year, according to Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Public and International Relations Director at the Ministry, Gezahegn Abate told ENA that the number of visitors and revenue has increased when compared with the previous consecutive years.

“Out of the plan to attract 1.25 million visitors, some 934,000 persons visited the country and generated 3.5 billion USD,” he pointed out.

The ministry has also managed to create over 177,000 jobs for citizens last Ethiopian fiscal year. It generated 297,000 in the previous fiscal year.

The Director said, “though the business improved during the first and second quarters of the last Ethiopian fiscal year, it declined in the third quarter due to instability in the country.”

According to Gezahegn, even if the country has tremendous natural and human-made tourist attractions, the industry is contributing meagre finance to the national economy.

Lack of sufficient infrastructure and low service delivery have been the significant challenges that hinder visitors to stay longer and spend money; he pointed out.

He added that the ministry is undertaking various measures to improve the sector’s performance by working with the private sector and government service providers to meet standard facilities.

Last week, PM Abiy started his tour in Washington DC where he held a series of high-level engagements with development partners before addressing the Ethiopian diaspora.

He oversaw the reconciliation of rival synods of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, addressed political parties in a forum; he met the Muslim community at an event before attending a mega rally where he addressed concerns by the diaspora community.

“The Ethiopian diaspora embodies our rich, diverse nationhood and are our global ambassadors. We come to you not because of our immediate needs. It’s because you’re integral to our identity, our renewal, our democracy, our growth, our healing and our human capital,” he told the gathering on July 28.

He arrived in Los Angeles, the second leg of his tour on Sunday. Abiy and his delegation met with Ethiopians as he reiterated his message of love and unity.

His chief of staff wrote on Twitter, “He urged them to tear down the wall of hatred and bring home the culture of innovation that LA is known for. He challenged the enthusiastic crowd to demand from themselves in service of the country they so love.”

The last leg of his visit will be in Minnesota – a state referred to as Little Oromia due to the sheer numbers of Ethiopians living there – where 10,000 Ethiopians warmly welcomed him.

In his address, the Premier once again reiterated the need to break the wall and build a bridge.

In such score, the Premier said, “We already hit and broke the wall in Washington DC and Los Angeles; and here in Minnesota, it’s time to clear the ruins.”

He said “we need to create a society in which love and solidarity rule over cynicism and polarisation. All of us need not to have uniformity of opinion but the collective responsibility to transform the lives of our people.”

The Premier further underlined the need to learn from “our history and the experience of other countries and once again build a great nation called-Ethiopia.”

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also announced the decision to open a general consulate office in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Minnesota has become the second city with Ethiopia’s representation in the US with consulate general office next to Los Angeles.

Ethiopia is working to restore relations between two of its neighbours, Djibouti and Eritrea, its envoy to the United Nations told the Security Council on Monday. According to ambassador Takeda Alemu, Addis Ababa was doing so in the prevailing spirit of embracing and all-inclusive progress and development of the Horn of Africa region.

He reiterated how dynamics of security and cooperation in the region was fast changing especially after the Ethio – Eritrea peace agreement, and more recently the Eritrea – Somalia normalisation of relations.

Why Ethiopia is entering mediation between Asmara and Djibouti

He stressed that Ethiopia believed there was the need for other countries to benefit from the new lease of the life the region was experiencing hence their move to reconcile Asmara and Djibouti.

“I want to take this opportunity to assure you, Mr President, that the prevailing spirit is one of embracing and not excluding anyone. It is in this spirit that we are trying to do our part to contribute toward the restoration of friendly relations between Djibouti and Eritrea.

“The Djibouti Foreign Minister was in Addis Ababa last week to deliver the message of President Guelleh to my Prime Minister, and he was able to conduct very productive and useful discussions, both with our Prime Minister and his counterpart, our Foreign Minister.

“Ethiopia has expressed its readiness to do whatever is necessary to contribute to the normalisation of relations between Eritrea and Djibouti and it is our firm commitment this is critical for peace and security in our region.

“The new spirit that has been created should exclude no country, and this is the foundation on which Ethiopia’s policy is based. Naturally, this new spirit also demands that no country should no longer be isolated. The Council has an obligation here,” the ambassador added.

He was speaking under the topic: “The politics of the Horn of Africa is in the process of rapid change and with salutary implications,” whiles addressing the Security Council. The Council had on July 30 received the 120 day’s briefing by the Chair of the Somalia-Eritrea Sanctions Committee, including the outcome of his recent visit to the region which took him to Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia.

Ambassador Tekeda Alemu’s full address highlighted the positive developments happening in the region, which has enormous implication for the committee and the sanctions regime.

Djibouti seeks UN assistance to resolve the border dispute with Eritrea

Since the Ethiopia – Eritrea peace deal signed in Asmara, Djibouti stepped up its resolve to normalise relations with Eritrea seeking the assistance of the United Nations (U.N.) in that regard.

The Horn of Africa nation’s ambassador to the U.N. Mohamed Siad Doualeh in a letter to the Security Council said they wanted help with international mediation with Eritrea.

Portions of the letter said Djibouti needs U.N. intervention “with the aim of facilitating an agreement between them upon a mutually acceptable means of peaceful dispute settlement,” stressing that they wanted an international settlement or arbitration that would be legally binding.

This Tuesday 31 July 2018, a regional meeting of the countries of the Eastern Africa Region took place at the Embassy of Ethiopia in Brussels.

The EA regional meeting convened at the Ethiopian Embassy premises aimed at discussing, among others things, the region’s participation in the negotiations for the post-2020 relationship with the EU and the nomination of the region’s coordinator at the ACP to replace Ethiopia.

Ethiopia’s prime minister had three productive meetings on Friday 27 July.

Abiy Ahmed met the vice president of the United States, Mike Pence who praised “the historic reform efforts” undertaken by Abiy since assuming power in April, the White House said in a statement.

Pence noted Abiy’s efforts at “improving respect for human rights, reforming the business environment, and making peace with Eritrea,” the statement said.

“The two leaders underscored their countries’ shared values and their commitment to building an even stronger partnership in the days ahead”.

Under Abiy, Ethiopia has instituted reforms including releasing prisoners, diluting state control of the economy and making peace with northern neighbour Eritrea after two decades of hostility.

He also met with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who said they had “an engaging and productive meeting.”

“I reiterated the IMF’s commitment to work with the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that the economy achieves high rates of sustainable and inclusive growth to reduce poverty,” she said in a statement.

PM Abiy is in the United States to visit and speak to members of the diaspora. By 7 a.m. Saturday, thousands of Ethiopians coming from as far away as Colorado and Texas gathered in the streets, honking car horns and sharing food. Most wore T-shirts emblazoned with the face of their homeland’s newly minted prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.

In the three months since his rise to power, the 41-year-old politician has introduced sweeping changes to Ethiopia, lifting a state of emergency, brokering peace with neighbouring Eritrea and releasing hundreds of prisoners. These dramatic steps toward liberalization have sparked “Abiy-mania” within the Ethiopian diaspora in the United States.

The Washington area is home to some 300,000 Ethiopians, making it the largest community outside the African country.

The Ethiopian Football Federation (EFF) and its Eritrean counterpart have agreed to stage a historic friendly game in August.

An exact date for the match is yet to be decided but looks set to be played in the Eritrean capital Asmara.

The two nations have been avoiding games against each since the start of a border war in 1998.

In recent weeks peace has returned to the area with diplomatic ties being resumed.

Ethiopia boycotted games against Eritrea in 2000 and refused to take part in the east and central African regional under-20 event organised by Cecafa.

For their part, Eritrea has also failed to take part in the 2015 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup and forfeited a 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN) qualifier against Ethiopia.

Newly appointed Ethiopia coach Abraham Mebratu is looking into the best date for the game as he will use it to help prepare for September’s 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifier against Sierra Leone.