Tibor P. Nagy, U.S. Assistant Secretary, arrived in Ethiopia yesterday for an official visit.

State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Markos Takele, greeted Mr. Tibor upon arrival at Bole International Airport.

During his stay in Ethiopia, he is expected to hold discussions with senior government officials, including the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

In addition to Ethiopia, he will travel to Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, and Germany.

The Assistant Secretary will focus on promoting stronger trade and commercial ties between the US and Africa, harnessing the potential of Africa’s youth, advancing peace and security through partnerships, and underscoring the United States’ enduring commitment to the people and nations of Africa.

In all stops, Assistant Secretary Nagy will conduct bilateral meetings with government officials.

Furthermore, Ethiopia’s Minister of Defense Aisha Mohammed met this morning with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Tibor Nagy and General Thomas D. Waldhauser, Commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM).

They discussed opportunities for security cooperation between the United States and Ethiopia. He will also participate in the United States-African Union High-Level Dialogue in Addis Ababa.

Mr. Nagy underscored that the Horn of Africa is now the Hope for Africa during a meeting with Minister of Foreign affairs, Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu.

On the occasion, Secretary Nagy thanked Ethiopia for its leading role in ensuring peace and stability in the Horn of Africa region.

Minister Workneh briefed Assistant Secretary Nagy on the ongoing sweeping democratic and economic reforms in Ethiopia.

The Minister expressed his country’s keenness to strengthen the trade and investment ties with the US in a bid to maximize the mutual benefits of the peoples of the two countries.

Dr. Workneh noted the support the US has been extending to Ethiopia’s endeavors in areas of education, health and power generation schemes, and emphasized on the importance of working more closely in supporting the ongoing efforts dedicated at institutional building.

Assistant Secretary Nagy noted Ethiopia’s significant role for the winds of change in the sub-region and described Ethiopia as exemplary to the rest of Africa .

He commended the ongoing reforms in the country, adding that the Government of the United States highly appreciates the fact that the relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea have evolved from mistrust to cooperation. In this regard, Assistant Secretary Nagy expressed his government’s continued commitment to support Ethiopia’s efforts of promoting regional peace and stability.

In a related development, a U.S. delegation led by Nagy held a discussion with Ethiopia’s Minister of Peace Mrs. Meferiat Kamil.

On the occasion, Muferiat briefed the delegation about her ministry.

She said the Ministry of Peace was established with a view to ensuring rule of law and building a peaceful country.

“We want to learn from the United States, a country that has a rich experience in peacebuilding, conflict resolution, and respect of human rights,” she noted.

Tibor Nagy for his part said the ongoing reform in Ethiopia could be a model for other African countries.
“We came here to work together and show our solidarity,” he said.

The two sides also discussed how to cooperate in peacebuilding, ensuring rule of law as well as human resource development, among others.

On the occasion of the 52nd session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly that started this morning in Cotonou (Benin), Tagesse Chafo, Speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representatives (HPR), updated his African and European partners on the current situation in Ethiopia.

A fresh air of reform has been blowing in Ethiopia since Dr. Abyi Ahmed came to power in April this year. Recently, additional initiatives were taken to empower women and create a more accommodative political system in Ethiopia.

As part of implementing Goal 5 (Gender equality) of our collective Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),  Ethiopia has established a gender-balanced cabinet for the first time in history, placing the country in one of the highest places in gender parity in the world.  Ethiopia has also elected women as President and head of the federal supreme court.

As part of creating a more accommodative political system in the country, a Ministry of Peace was established to coordinate and oversee activities on nurturing national consensus. Furthermore, a former leader of an opposition party, Ms. Birtukan Mideksa was named to head the Ethiopian National Electoral Board.

As Ethiopia is preparing to hold National and local elections in 2020, discussions between the ruling and the opposition parties are underway. We hope that those multifaceted reform efforts will help to ensure not only Ethiopia’s strive to create a more prosperous society, but also to contribute for the implementation of the third pillar of our joint document “towards the ACP we want.”

In a separate speech, Tagesse Chafo advocated for a strong parliamentary dimension in the post-2020 landscape. The structural problems of the ACP Assembly have to be improved in order to have a strong and reformed ACP Assembly.

Ethiopia will hold its first population census in more than a decade. PM Abiy, meeting Tuesday with the leaders of about 80 political parties, said the government is working on amending the election law before the 2020 vote. He also appointed new officials, including two national security advisers.

The census’ advisory council will have 20 members, including nine ministers and officials from all nine of Ethiopia regional states. Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation, was reconfigured a quarter century ago as a federation to give autonomy to its more than 80 ethnic groups.

Ethiopia’s last census was in 2007, and the constitution requires one every ten years.

The House of People’s Representatives (HPR) approved unanimously the draft bill prepared to assign members of the Population and Housing Census Commission yesterday.

Here is the list of new members of the Commission:

1. Muferiat Kamil- Minister of Peace

2. Ahmed Shide – Minister of Finance

3. Umer Hassen – Minister of Agriculture

4. Mrs. Dagmawit Mogess- Minister of Transport

5. Dr. Amir Aman –Minister of Health

6. Dr. Fitsum Assefa – Minister of Planning and Development Commission

7. Shimeles Abdisa – Chief of Staff at the Prime Minister’s Office with the rank of Minister

8. Jantirar Abay- Minister of Urban Development and Construction

9. Mrs. Yalem Tsegay – Minister of Women, Youth and Children Affairs

10. Temesgen Burka –Democratic System Building Coordination Center at the Prime Minister’s Office with the rank of Minister.

11. Mrs. Keria Ibrahim- Speaker of the House of Federation (HoF)

12. Dr. Abrham Tekeste- Deputy Chief Administrator of Tigray Regional State

13. Lakew Ayalew – Deputy Chief Administrator of Amhara Regional State

14. Mrs. Teyba Hussien – Deputy Chief Administrator of Oromia Regional State

15. Adem Farah – Deputy Chief Administrator of Somali Regional State

16. Ordin Bedri- Chief Administrator of Harari Regional State

17. Elias Shikur – Deputy Chief Administrator of SNNP Regional State

18. Abdela Mohammed Muhammed- Deputy Mayor of Dire Dawa city administration

19. Abera Bayeta- Deputy Chief Administrator of Benishangul Gumuz Regional State

20. Tankuay Jocken- Deputy Chief Administrator of Gambella Regional State.

In a related development, the House referred to the relevant standing committee the draft bill prepared to reform the Defense Force after making amendments on more than 28 articles.

Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa has overtaken Dubai as the leading gateway to Sub-Saharan Africa using at least one measure, according to analyst ForwardKeys.

Addis Ababa Bole International Airport has grown its volume of international transfer passengers to the region for five years in a row (2013-17) to achieve that position. The airport is currently being upgraded with a new terminal at the cost of US$345 million, ForwardKeys noted.

The findings were released by ForwardKeys during a presentation by Vice-President, Insights Olivier Ponti at the World Travel and Tourism Council’s Africa Leaders Forum in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Ponti highlighted Ethiopia’s “extraordinary rise” as both a destination and a transfer hub for long-haul travel to Sub-Saharan Africa.

He said at least some of Ethiopia’s increase in international flight bookings could be attributed to “new-found confidence in the wake of reforms carried out by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since he took office in April.” These include signing a peace deal with Eritrea in July, a new e-visa policy introduced in June, which allows all international visitors to apply for a visa online, and a promise to open Ethiopia’s markets to private investment.

International bookings for Ethiopia for the period from this November to January next year are ahead by more than 40% on the same period in 2017, ForwardKeys said. Bookings are well ahead of all other destinations in Sub-Saharan Africa.

While visitors to Ethiopia and the rest of Sub-Saharan Africa are coming from across the globe, Europe dominates as a source market, according to the analyst’s findings, having grown by +4% since the start of the year. ForwardKeys said growth in visitors from Asia Pacific was “sluggish,” increasing just +1% since the beginning of the year.

Ponti said the relaxing of visa regimes for international travelers represented one of the major opportunities for destinations in the region. The Chinese market is particularly important as it is now the strongest in the world by numbers of people and by expenditure. According to ForwardKeys data, liberalized visa policies have had a transformative effect on Chinese tourism to Morocco and Tunisia in recent years, dramatically lifting visitor numbers.

“Sub-Saharan Africa is a market of opportunity. Across the region, carriers are increasing seat capacity on international flights by +6% on average; that is an encouraging sign,” said Ponti.

“If more governments follow the go-ahead example set by Ethiopia, including reducing conflict and taking advantage of the benefits that can flow from more relaxed visa policies, I would expect to see a healthy growth in tourism in 2019.”

Source: ©The Moodie Davitt Report

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has begun a discussion with 81 opposition political party leaders registered in Ethiopia and parties that have recently returned home from exile.

The discussion reportedly focused on the ongoing sweeping reform and democratization process in the country.

Together, they will discuss the electoral reforms required to be addressed in order to make the forthcoming national election democratic, free and fair.

Last week, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s administration secured parliamentary approval to appoint Birtukan Mideksa, who used to be an opposition leader, as the new election board chairperson. She is the first election board official not affiliated with the ruling coalition, directly or indirectly.

Ethiopia and the United Kingdom have agreed to expand bilateral cooperation and strengthen trade and investment, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

Foreign Affairs State Minister Hirut Zemene held talks with Harriett Baldwin, UK Minister of State for Africa at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office yesterday.

The two sides have agreed to expand cooperation between the countries.

The statement added that the officials have noted the growing trade and investment ties between Ethiopia and the United Kingdom, and emphasized the need to strengthen the level of trade and investment cooperation further.

The trade volume between the countries has reached 2 billion USD.

UK Minister Harriett Baldwin expressed her country’s continued commitment to support the efforts of ensuring regional peace, stability and economic integration in the Horn of Africa.

Ethiopia and the UK have enjoyed rich diplomatic relations covering a range of areas, including trade, culture, education and development cooperation.

Former rebels belonging to Ethiopia’s Ogaden National Liberation Front, ONLF, on Wednesday returned to the country from their base in neighboring Eritrea.

The contingent was flown from Asmara to Jijiga, capital of the Somali Regional State, SRSby an Ethiopian Airlines flight. They were received with cultural displays upon their arrival at the airport.

In mid-November, the group signed a peace deal with the Ethiopian federal government in Asmara, where they had been based for several years.

As part of the agreement, “The two sides have reached a historical agreement regarding the political rights of the people from Somali Regional State and genuinely addressing the root causes of the conflict between ONLF and the Ethiopian government”.

As at the last meeting, there was also the announcement of a joint committee established for further discussions. The first round of talks between the two parties was in September this year. Months earlier the Ethiopian parliament had struck them off a list of terrorist organizations whiles they also called a ceasefire.

The ONLF was formed in 1984 amid a resurgence of separatist sentiment in the ethnically Somali Ogaden region on Ethiopia’s border with Somalia.

 

The House of Peoples` Representatives (HPR) appointed Birtukan Mideksa as the new Chairperson of the National Electoral Board (NEBE) today.

Nominated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Birtukan replaced Ambassador Samia Zekaria, who was the chairperson of NEBE since last year.

Premier Abiy has pledged to deliver a credible election in 2020.

Birtukan recently returned to Ethiopia after seven years in exile in the United States and was compelled to return by the ongoing reforms. She has always been a vocal advocate for the rule of law and respect for the constitution.

She has in the past years resigned from her position as chairperson of Ethiopian Unity Party and before being nominated to the chairpersonship NEBE, she has been engaged in the National Endowment for democracy in Washington D.C. as a non-partisan research institute formed by Ethiopians.

She founded the opposition Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ) party in 2008 and had previously worked with opposition parties including Rainbow Ethiopia: Movement for Democracy and Social Justice and Coalition for Unity and Democracy.

The National Electoral Board is accountable to the House of Peoples Representatives and is an independent and autonomous organ for conducting elections having its own legal personality.

The Broad has nine members who are nominated by the Prime Minister and appointed by the House of Peoples Representatives.

The composition of the Board Members has taken into consideration the national diversity, gender representation and includes legal professionals.

Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed who has implemented several reforms across the political, economic, social and diplomatic front, has also recently appointed several women to key government positions including the president.

Birtukan Midekssa was elected as the first female NEBE chairperson on the 7th regular session of this year’s HPR meeting with four members against and three abstentions.

 

With an average growth rate of 6.7% between 2013 and 2017 – double the African average – East Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, accompanied by rapid social improvements.

Average life expectancy has increased by 5.3 years over the past decade, with some countries registering historically unprecedented gains (e.g., 8.5 years in Kenya and Rwanda).

“There are of course still many challenges – chief amongst them being the need for faster job creation for the rapidly growing population – but on balance, progress has been impressive. Life expectancy is a good general indicator of living standards, and the pace of change is one of the fastest in history”, said Andrew Mold, the Acting Director of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Eastern Africa, presenting an overview of economic and social developments in the region at the 22nd meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts, ICE.

The three-day meeting takes place in Kigali, Rwanda, and gathers more than 250 economic stakeholders and decision makers of 14 countries in East Africa.

In 2019, the region is expected to grow at 6.2%, thanks to sustained public and private investment, renewed optimism in the Horn of Africa, and the opening up of new trade opportunities under the AfCFTA.

Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of Rwanda, Dr. Uzziel Ndagijimana, noted that “ In many aspects, the Eastern Africa region has been leading continental trends – be it in terms of economic progress but also social – with life expectancy and other indicators improving a lot over the last decade.”

Amongst the challenges are the impact of climate change on agricultural production, rising levels of debt in some countries, and peace and security concerns.

Outside the continent, the specter of trade wars and moderating global demand could also impact on regional growth. At such a time, ECA argues that African countries should focus their attention on the more resilient and dynamic regional trading relations.

Participants of the ICE meeting will discuss how to strengthen regional integration through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, AfCFTA.

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) approved on 19 November additional resources to Ethiopia’s Basic Services Transformation Program in the form of a 123- million US dollars grant.

The Basic Services Transformation Programme Supplementary Financing (BSTP-SF) will be for the fiscal years 2018/19 to 2019/20, according to a press release issued by the bank.

The proposed support is consistent with the Ethiopian government’s Growth and Transformation Plan II (GTP II) 2015/16 – 2019/20), with specific reference to the strategic pillar on accelerating human development and technological capacity building and ensuring its sustainability.

The additional financial support is a continuation of the African Development Bank Group’s commitment to deliver quality basic services in Ethiopia in sectors such as healthcare, education and water and sanitation.

The original support program was approved in December 2015, the statement noted.

It will also enable Ethiopia to continue with programs that increase access to better basic services at the local level; strengthen accountability and transparency in service delivery and improve citizen’s engagement in service delivery.

According to the statement, Ethiopia has made strong progress in human capital development. It increased net enrolment rate in primary schools from 77.5 percent (2006) to 99 percent (2016); reduced child mortality from 72 children per 1000 in 2006 to 20 children per 1000 by 2016, and improved rural water supply from 46 percent in 2006 to 74 percent as at the end of 2017.

In approving the additional support, the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund noted Ethiopia’s progressive economic development and structural transformation process.

The East African nation’s fiscal policy in 2018/19 is expected to sustain focus on fiscal consolidation, characterized by stable pro-poor spending and improvements in public revenue mobilization.

BSTP-SF was developed jointly by the African Development Fund and the Government of Ethiopia, in close consultation with key development partners supporting basic service delivery (the World Bank, EU, Austria Development Agency and Italy Development Cooperation).