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.

 

The port of Massawa is ready to serve Ethiopia’s import and export commodities, the Port Administration said.

According to Head of Massawa Port Administration Layne Asfahaley, the port has gone through major renovation process to enable it to provide service for Ethiopia.

A delegation of Ethiopian business community has paid a visit on Friday to the Port of Massawa to assess the situation of the port that has been abandoned by Ethiopia for more than two decades.

Founded in the 19th century and initially developed by the Italian and British colonial powers, the Port of Massawa is the primary port for import-export of goods for Eritrean market.

The port was also a major gate for Ethiopia’s import-export trade until the border war that broke out between the two countries in 1998.

Since then, Ethiopia has been primarily using the port of Djibouti to access the international market. 95 per cent of Ethiopia’s imports and exports transit through the port of Djibouti.

However, the recent rapprochement between the two countries has led the way for the re-establishment of ties including port services, transportation, among others.

The port is equipped with the necessary facilities and skilled labour and is ready to restart its service for Ethiopia’s import-export commodities shortly, the Head said.

“The Port Administration outfitted and refurbished the port facilities to the very interest of Ethiopia’s import-export commodities, and we are considering further expansion of the port following the vast demand …we are ready to serve Ethiopia.”

Former President of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association (ECCSA), Solomon Afewerk said there is a huge opportunity that can make both countries economically inter-reliant.

“The use of the Port of Massawa can pave the way for further cooperation and mutual benefit of the two neighbouring countries, but subsequent to the demand from Ethiopia, there should be expansion and development of the port to accommodate the vast flow of import-export freights,” he said.

Habtom Gebreamlak, an industrialist and importer-exporter, said that he is ready to use the Ports of Assab and Massawa for his factory in Kombolchan, northern Ethiopia.

“If it is equipped with the necessary logistics and facilities, the Port of Massawa is the nearest port for northern Ethiopia, so it has paramount importance regarding cost and time,” he said.

Another Ethiopian businessman, Yonnas Mekonin told ENA that the Port of Massawa, which is near to Tigrai and Amhara regions, would reduce the long journey to port.

“However, the port needs huge investment and refurbishment. If so it can provide extensive port services for the northern part of Ethiopia, which in turn relieve the congestion in the port of Djibouti,” he said.

The ports of  Massawa and Assab are a potential alternative for Ethiopia due to its nearness to the northern parts of the country.

Ethiopia’s political and economic reforms have raised confidence in the ‘hard currency’ market, helping to close a once yawning gap between the official and black market exchange rates for its birr currency.

As cash – in some cases briefcases full of dollars – pours into banks, local businesses say they are finally feeling relief from a foreign exchange crunch that had seen some segments of the economy grind to a halt.

Businesses and analysts in the capital Addis Ababa noted on Friday 20 July that the birr was trading on the parallel market around 28 to the dollar, close to parity with the official rate and 25 per cent firmer than three months ago.

“All of a sudden this is happening,” said one real estate agent whose business had come to a standstill over the past year because the construction sector could not access dollars to import building materials.

“I’m not sure of the source of the foreign exchange, but psychologically the scarcity mentality has changed overnight,” the woman, who asked not to be named, said.

In a televised address earlier this week, 41-year-old reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called upon those hoarding hard currency to deposit it in banks.

The call, which has come to be known locally as a “hard currency amnesty”, came with a warning: those who refused would be tracked down.

The government also opened a diaspora fund bank account and is asking Ethiopians abroad to contribute. And the United Arab Emirates last month agreed to deposit $1 billion in Ethiopia’s central bank.

Though it’s among Africa’s fastest-growing economies, Ethiopia’s export sector – mainly garment manufacturing and agricultural produce – has struggled to take off, and the economy is not generating enough dollars to pay for imports.

A decade-long infrastructure push aimed at industrialising the overwhelmingly agrarian nation to create jobs has as a side-effect exacerbated the dollar shortage.

Since earlier this year, essential items including insulin, blood pressure medication and infant formula have become scarce. The dollar shortage has also dissuaded international firms from investing out of fear they will struggle to repatriate profits.

That could now change.

On 19 July, Abiy’s newly appointed central bank governor, Yinager Dessie, pledged to meet the business community regularly and pledged that their main concerns – scant access to credit and foreign exchange – were government priorities.

Businesses in the capital said their letters of credit, which banks had declined to honour for months, were finally being approved.

Source; Reuters