The UK government has announced a £15.5 million support to help Ethiopia run transparent, free and fair elections next year.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt made the announcement at the 2019 World Press Freedom Day celebrations that started in Addis Ababa yesterday.

The money will build the capacity of the elections board to run the election which will make electoral operations more transparent and enhance communications and engagement for the National Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE).

It will also prevent electoral violence through enhanced monitoring and early warning to improve the effectiveness of electoral dispute mechanism.

“If successful and peaceful, the elections in May 2020 will be a major step towards building a democratic culture in Ethiopia and will lay a platform for a continuation and deepening of Prime Minister Abiy’s political and economic reforms,” he said.

The Foreign Secretary also expressed his delight “to be in Ethiopia, where under Prime Minister Abiy’s leadership the new government has transformed political discourse by allowing the creation of hundreds of websites, blogs, and newspapers.”

“Since the Prime Minister assumed office last year, Ethiopia has climbed the World Press Freedom Index faster than any other country, rising 40 places and showing just how much can be achieved when the political will exists.”

The Foreign Secretary also announced a new Chevening Africa Media Fellowship programme that will provide 60 exceptional African journalists over the next five years to gain experience in the newsrooms of Britain’s leading media organizations.

This year, applicants from ten African countries will be eligible, including Ethiopia.

In his remark at the event, Jeremy Hunt set out his vision to improve media freedom around the world, calling on leaders to recognize that “media freedom is not a “Western” value, but instead a force for progress from which everyone benefits.”

“Whatever we politicians claim during election campaigns, no single party or leader or philosophy has a monopoly on wisdom. Instead of the progress of humanity clearly shows that wisdom arises from the open competition between ideas when different viewpoints are given the oxygen to contend freely and fairly,” he said.

Hunt indicated that a free media “provides a channel for people to voice discontent without resorting to violence. If problems and tensions are bottled up, then they are far more likely to boil over. Stopping journalists from reporting a problem does not make it go away.”

Jeremy Hunt also made the link between a free media and lower levels of government corruption, saying that “far more effective than the crackdowns regularly launched by authoritarian regimes is the sunlight of transparency – just witness the striking overlap between the least corrupt countries in global indices and those with the freest media.”

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) awarded Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Prize for Peace for his commendable work in pursuit of peace.

The Félix Houphouët-Boigny Prize for Peace goes to individuals who have “actively contributed to bring peace by solving international conflicts, by searching dialogue and negotiation in their conciliation role and by achieving ecumenical understanding for tolerance,” according to office o the Prime Minister.

Ethiopia in joint cooperation with UNESCO and the African Union Commission (AUC), is currently hosting the 2019 World Press Freedom Day global conference.

Journalists from across the world have gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a three days conference and celebrate the World Press Freedom Day.

The official celebration of the 2019 World Press Freedom Day officially kicked off at the African Union (AU) headquarters today.

The event which is being held under the theme “Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in times of Disinformation,” brought together more than 2,000 participants from over 95 countries.

The celebration started yesterday with a joint media forum held at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa to discuss the challenges and opportunities for the media in the age of disinformation.

In a forum, the participants underscored the need for mainstream media to be more critical of fact-checking during election periods as disinformation has been threatening the bases of African democracy.

The forum stressed the significance of critical journalism to be factually correct in an era where disinformation seems to create alternative realities and threaten the basis of democracy in Africa.

Over the past year, Ethiopia has undertaken dramatic changes to open up media and use it for promoting democracy. A lot of significant policy and a shift in practice have taken place over the past year. The government is working on drafting rules and regulations that could curb hate speech.

The government of Ethiopia has secured $103 million export earnings from products manufactured in industrial parks over the first nine months of its fiscal year started July 8, 2018.

The performance has increased by 40 percent compared to last year same period, according to Ethiopian Investment Commissioner Abebe Abebayehu. He noted that the country had met 70 percent of its export earning target over these nine months.

Textiles, shoes and other leather products were among the manufactured items that generated hard currency for Ethiopia. The report also stated that the active industrial parks of Ethiopia have created jobs for over 70,000 people so far, of which around 16,000 were created over the past nine months.

Ethiopia’s industrial parks include Hawassa, Bole Lemi, Kilinto, Mekelle, Dire Dawa, Kombolcha, Debre Birhan, Addis Industrial Village and Jimma, among others.

To date, Bole Lemi, Mekele, Adama have partially started operation, and Hawassa Industrial Park is already operational.

The conflicts in different parts of the country over the years have hardly affected the performance of the industrial parks. Special security precautions are in place to ascertain the safety and security in and around the industrial parks.

In recent years, Ethiopia has focused on building industrial parks as a viable strategy to increase foreign exchange earnings; and the country is striving to complete a total of 30 industrial parks over the coming years.

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Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met yesterday with Prime Minister Li Keqiang to discuss the further strengthening of Ethiopia-China relations.

Premier Li Keqiang confirmed that China would continue to support Ethiopia’s efforts in promoting the wellbeing of its citizens and its economy.

They presided over the signing of five agreements that reflect the deepening of these relations. The agreements signed include a financing agreement for the development of a plaza and 12km of the ‘Beautifying Sheger’ river bank project, the provision of grants for technical cooperation and food aid, a Belt and Road Initiative five-year cooperation plan and an MOU operationalizing cooperation under FOCAC.

Ethiopia and China have signed a 1.8 billion US dollars investment agreement which covers the provision of electric power transmission and distribution lines.

The same day, an agreement was signed following Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s meeting with State Grid Corporation of China.

The project will supply power for up to 16 industrial parks; the Addis Ababa to Djibouti 2nd railway line and for different cities in the country.

The agreement will facilitate not only uninterrupted power supply but also enable the creation of jobs.

Prime Minister Abiy arrived in China yesterday to attend the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF), which will be held on April 25-27 in Beijing under the theme “Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future.”

The forum events include leaders’ round-table, high-level meeting, thematic forums, CEO conference and other side events. Representatives from over 100 countries, including 40 leaders of foreign governments have confirmed their attendance.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his delegation met with Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of the Belt and Road Forum.

The Chinese President admired the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy and the reforms he has led over the past year, noting that China holds Ethiopia’s development in high regard. He also announced the cancellation of interest on all loans accumulated until the end of 2018.

Furthermore, President Xi emphasized that the Chinese government attaches high importance to the beautifying Sheger project and is working on a grant assistance in its support.

Both parties agreed to a strengthened cooperation between the two countries in various sectors.

In a related development, the Prime Minister met with the leadership of the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) in Beijing yesterday.

CRCC’s current largest engagement includes connecting Ethiopia and Djibouti through the railway project. CRCC has expressed interest in investing in agro-industry parks development, oil and gas development, and the beautifying Sheger river project.

Tuesday, 14 May 2019 09:00 – 18:00

The Square, Brussels

The EU-Ethiopia Business Forum, hosted by the European Commission, will take place on May 14 in Brussels.

The objective of this Forum is mainly to support and stimulate European private sector trade and investment.

During this high-level business forum you will hear practical information about doing business in Ethiopia and you can interact with top-officials from the Ethiopian Investment Commission and with other high-ranking officials from Ethiopia.

In the presence of Mr. Jyrki Katainen, vice-president of the European Commission and Commissioner for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, the day-long program will focus on four key sectors in Ethiopia. These sectors are:

• Agroprocessing
• Textile, apparel and leather
• Pharmaceutical and medical
• ICT

A delegation of business-leaders from Ethiopia is also expected, who shall be available for matchmaking during the event on May 14^th, and the following day.

Please notice that access to the EU-Ethiopia Business Forum is free of charge but kindly keep in mind that a final selection of participants will be made by the organizers on May 7^th.

The EU-Ethiopia Business Forum 2019 starts at 09:00, doors open at 8.

You can register here:
https://en.xing-events.com/eu_ethiopia_businessforum.html?page=1699742

The House of People’s Representatives (HPR) today approved the nominations Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed put forward for three ministerial posts.

The House approved the appointment of Gedu Andargachew as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lemma Megresa as Minister of Defense and Engineer Aisha Mohammed as Minister of Urban Development and Construction.

Former president of the Amhara regional state, Gedu Andargachew, is the new Foreign Affairs Minister. He replaces Workneh Gebeyehu who was last month named new head of the United Nations Africa office in Nairobi.

Lemma Megresa, the new Minister of Defense, has previously served as Oromia Police Commission Commissioner and Oromia Trade Bureau as well as Speaker of the Oromia Parliament, among others.

Aisha Mohammed, Ethiopia’s first female holder of the defense portfolio, has been appointed minister of Urban Development and Construction, a position she once held. She worked as Minister of Tourism and Culture before taking the historic Defense post in 2018.

Born in Afar Region of Ethiopia, Aisha Mohammed Mussa has a degree in Civil Engineering and Master Degree in Transformational Leadership and Change. She was in charge of in Afar Region as head of disaster prevention and food security.

All three appointees have since been sworn into office by Chief Justice Meaza Ashenafi in the House of Peoples Representatives.

The current development means Abiy’s gender-par cabinet that won him praise remains balanced with ten men and ten women.

The House approved the appointments with a majority vote, one against and five abstentions.

Some 699 lower echelons in various parts of the country have been freed from harmful traditional practices within a year, the Ministry of Women, Children and Youth said.

In a press briefing she gave on April 13, the Minister Yalem Tsegay said the achievement is the result of vigorous activities that aimed to end harmful traditional practices, which undermine the rights and wellbeing of women and girls.

She said that the integrated work conducted in collaboration with stakeholders on the 699 kebeles, where female genital mutilation and early marriage were prone, helped to free the areas from these practices.

Afar, Amhara and Somali regional states are home to most of the 699 kebeles that are freed from harmful traditional practices.

Community elders, religious leaders, representatives of local administrations and civil society organizations have actively taken part in the efforts aimed to end the practices by improving the public’s awareness on the negative impact of such practices, she added.

Learning from the best experience that the Ministry got from the achievement in these kebeles, Yalem said activities to end harmful traditional practices in other areas will continue in an integrated way.

The Ethiopian government has reacted to political developments in Sudan in a statement issued by the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on April 15.

The statement comes almost a week after long-serving Omar al-Bashir was forced out of power by the military. He had been under months of pressure by anti-government protests.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has extended his admiration to the peoples of Sudan for their resilience in conducting a peaceful change in their country.

In a message he sent to the peoples of Sudan, the premier said: “your efforts to voice your demands in a responsible manner is a reflection of your aspirations for reconstructing a strengthened and democratic Sudan.”

According to the statement of the Office of the Prime Minister, Abiy also appreciated the military council for overseeing the transition and its efforts in heeding to the call of the Sudanese people.

The initiative to hold discussions with competing political parties in the country is commendable, he said, adding that “extending the practice of inclusive dialogue with all other stakeholders will facilitate the path to a strengthened, united and democratic Sudan.”

He stressed on the need for peaceful discussion to hammer out differences to promote mutual understanding and alignment.

“It is important to also ensure that any differences in ideas that arise are dealt with peacefully and patiently to come towards mutual understanding and alignment. Your neighbor Ethiopia will always be with you,” it concluded.