Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who is on a six days tour to Africa, met with Prime minister Abiy Ahmed and President Sahle-Work Zewde in Addis Ababa on 9 January. The president expressed Ethiopia’s interest in furthering relation with Ireland based on the principle of mutual benefit.
The Irish Primer said that Ireland supports political and economic reforms that Ethiopia is undertaking and is determined to their deepen trade and investment relations.
He also expressed his will to foster a stronger relationship with Africa. RTE, Irish news source, quoted him as saying:
“If we in Ireland and Europe do not get more involved in this region and invest in this region, we risk opening a space for other countries to enter, be it China or Saudi Arabia or Russia. We need to make sure we are here, and we are crowding in.”
Ireland is one of the west European countries active in development work in the country.
During his meeting with Abiy Ahmed, Prime minister Varadkar discussed Irish-Ethiopian links, which have been in place for 25 years.
Mr. Varadkar said that he had sought further support for Ireland’s bid for a place on the United Nations Security Council.
He also said that Mr. Ahmed had sought his view on Brexit, adding “Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was aware of it and regretted it was happening because Ethiopia and Africa want a strong Europe and a united Europe”.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s fundamental political and economic reforms could be a model to the East African region and beyond, said EU ambassador to Ethiopia.
In an interview, Ambassador Johan Borgstam said that the EU welcomes the commitment of the Ethiopian Government to multiparty democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law and gender parity.
The appointment of SahleWork Zewde as the President and appointment of 50 percent women in the cabinet are also encouraging steps toward a higher degree of gender equality and inclusiveness, he said.
The EU encourages the Ethiopian Government to continue towards developing an inclusive dialogue with all stakeholders, including federal and regional authorities, political parties, CSOs, youth groups and media on sustainable solutions towards better governance, justice and accountability, election, job creation, and security challenges.
According to him, the EU stands ready to support Ethiopia in its continued work to ensure the respect for the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and access to information, the right to assembly, foster religious tolerance and safeguard gender mainstreaming.
The Union also backs activities towards promoting women and girls’ education and empowerment and moves to eliminate all forms of violence against them, including in efforts to make the upcoming election inclusive, credible and transparent.
The EU welcomed the announcement of reforms aiming at revitalizing the economy by improving the investment climate and strengthening the role of the private sector, the ambassador said.
It appreciates Ethiopia’s engagement in multilateral free trade mechanisms, reforming key state-owned enterprises and opening them to competition and foreign participation as well as putting the economy on a fiscally sustainable path, he added.
Noting that economic reforms should contribute to addressing the crucial need for job creation in a country where two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30, Borgstam said the EU would intensify its support in job creation, industrial and agro-industrial parks, export and trade promotion as well as private sector development.
The recently proposed Africa-Europe Alliance for Sustainable Investment and Jobs promotes a strengthened framework to support Ethiopia’s economic transformation, he said.
The EU and its Member States have been steadfast allies in supporting Ethiopia through various platforms, and they will step up coordination to back government’s endeavors.
Furthermore, EU and its Member States have been providing humanitarian assistance for millions of internally displaced people across the country thereby supplementing government’s efforts to deter the existing large-scale internal displacement from posing a risk to the reform process.
Ambassador Borgstam pointed out that EU supports the driving role Ethiopia has been playing in the regional Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF) process as the second largest refugee-hosting country in Africa.
The Union commends Ethiopia for its constructive role in the Khartoum Process and the Valletta Summit on Migration and applauds the decision the government has made to grant visa-upon arrival to African citizens as a step towards further regional and continental integration.
Another border crossing between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been opened for travelers and businesspeople as reconciliation between the two Horn of Africa countries continues, all part of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s attempts to build peace with his neighbors and broaden the political space at home.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isayas Afework officially opened Oumajir-Humera border along Gonder and Eritrea, in Western Ethiopia, as Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Church followers celebrated Christmas, along with the rest of the Orthodox Christian World on Monday 7 January.
This development is a further sign that the two former enemies are working to bury the hatchet after 20 years of closed borders and tensions. An update issued by the office of the prime minister says, “the opening of the border [Oumajir-Humera] will further enable the people to people connection on both sides and facilitate cross-border trade in the long term.”
The Humera-Oum Hajer border on the western side of both countries was not the first border crossing to be reopened. In September, two land crossings were opened.
Since then, relations between the neighbors have continued to improve, with the normalization allowing the free movement of people and goods.
Ethiopia’s exports to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) have risen by 62 percent in just one year. If this trend continues, Ethiopia is poised to be the second or third largest exporter in East Africa under AGOA, according to the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Under AGOA, exports from Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius and Burundi, the eight countries which benefit from the act, rose by 17 percent during the period October 2017 to September 2018, compared to the same period in the previous year.
In total, the eight countries exported $1 billion worth of products to the United States between October 2017 and September 2018. Kenya, the largest exporter of the eight, accounted for $454 million while Ethiopia’s exports amounted to $137 million. 84.4 percent of AGOA exports are made of apparel.
To date, USAID Hub trade and investment support have contributed to $4.07 billion in AGOA exports from the region, with $491.5 million from USAID Hub-supported firms.
AGOA is a United States Trade Act, enacted on 18 May 2000, which significantly enhances market access to the US for qualifying Sub-Saharan African countries. While it was initially intended for a period of eight years, subsequent renewals have ensured its existence until at least the year 2025.
The office of the Attorney General of Ethiopia announced on January 2 that it had pardoned 538 prisoners, both from Federal and regional prisons.
This amnesty was given on the occasion of Ethiopian Christmas, which will be celebrated on January 7 with the rest of the Orthodox Christian world.
Priority will go to mothers, elders and those whose health is not in good condition.
Zeleke Dalalo, Federal Amnesty Board Office secretary, told journalists during a press conference that the amnesty focused on those who need special attention.
“From the point of view of observing the rights of children, the Board gave special consideration to 26 mothers who were arrested with their children to make them beneficiaries of the amnesty,” he told journalists.
He also added that elderly prisoners whose names were forwarded by prison administration on the grounds that they have made the correctional service a bit difficult because of their age are included in the amnesty. Prisoners over sixty years of age are included in this category of Amnesty.
The Board decided that convicts who committed crimes like rape, homicide, severe corruption, and contraband trade would not be included in the amnesty. The consideration for this decision, according to Zeleke Dalalo, was public interest and correctional benefits of times to be served for individuals who committed the crimes mentioned above.
Since the Amnesty Law was promulgated last year, Ethiopia has given amnesty to 13,122 inmates. The Ethiopian government, following Abiy Ahmed’s appointment as the country’s Prime Minister in April 2018, has been implementing various decisions aimed at creating a nationwide reconciliation. They include the release of prisoners, the invitation for Ethiopian rebel groups for talks as well as the decision to normalize relations with its regional arch-rival Eritrea.
Ethiopia’s US$4 billion dam project on the River Nile will start initial operations in December 2020, according to the water and energy minister.
The planned 6,000-megawatt Grand Renaissance Dam is the centerpiece of Ethiopia’s bid to become Africa’s biggest power exporter, but until this week progress had been unclear after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last August canceled a state-run conglomerate’s contract to build the turbines.
The government had signed an agreement with GE Hydro France, a unit of GE Renewables, to accelerate the completion of the dam, and water and energy minister Seleshi Bekele said on Thursday3 January that the project was on track to open in two years.
“750 megawatts is the planned initial production with two turbines,” Seleshi told parliament. The government expected the dam to be fully operational by the end of 2022, he said.
When PM Abiy canceled the contract of Ethiopian military conglomerate Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC) in August, he said that not a single turbine was operational more than seven years after the government awarded the contract. Dozens of senior officials from METEC, including its head, have been arrested in a corruption crackdown launched by the reformist leader who took office last year.
METEC had only completed 23 percent of the work. There have been other construction delays.
“Purchased generators, turbines and other equipment are scattered in ports and other places, meaning more costs,” Seleshi said.
The project was announced in 2011 and only 65 per cent of work has been completed. “It is a project that was supposed to be completed within five years, but seven or eight years later not a single turbine is operational,” Ahmed said.
Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt have been holding regular talks regarding the project as Cairo fears it will impact access to its share of Nile waters.
GE Hydro France will be paid nearly €54 million (US$61 million) to manufacture, fix and test turbine generators.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed the names of Ambassadors to 19 countries and missions this Thursday. This statement followed the ministry’s announcement earlier this year that it was working to make the appointments of foreign representatives more professional, rather than political, and to select people who can promote Ethiopia’s interests abroad more effectively
Part of the initiative in the ministry as part of reform measures was to appoint a good number of young diplomats and the appointments seem to reflect that.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Meles Alem, was appointed as Ethiopia’s ambassador to Kenya. The new foreign policy objective also focuses on fostering economic and security cooperation among the countries in the region, according to information from the ministry.
Notable appointees include Fitsum Arega, who was the Director General of the Ethiopian Investment Commission and the Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia. He is now appointed as Ambassador to the United States of America. Further, Ambassador Teshome Toga, former Ambassador to the E.U., Benelux countries and the Baltic States, will become the new Ambassador to China. He was the second Speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representatives, the lower chamber of the Ethiopian Parliament, from 2005 to 2010. He was succeeded in that position by Abadula Gemeda. Teshome Toga has held several ambassador positions and was a member of many diplomatic missions, including Ambassador to Kenya and Tanzania.
The lists of countries to which the Ambassadors are appointed are as follows.
Ambassador Sulieman Dedefo – United Arab Emirates
Mulu Solomon – Germany
Abdulaziz Mohammed – Djibouti
Nasise Chali – Canada
Hassen Taju – Senegal
Reta Alemu – Israel
Henok Tefera – France
Alemtsehay Meseret – Uganda
Tizita Mulugeta (Ph.D.) – India
Ambassador Tesfaye Yilma – Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to AU
Ambassador Teshome Toga – China
Teferi Tadesse – South Sudan
Fitsum Arega – USA
Addisu Gebre-Egziabher (Ph.D.) – Zimbabwe
Million Samuel – The Netherlands
Meles Alem – Kenya
Berhane Fisseha – Deputy Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the AU
The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry announced on 27 December that some 44,500 citizens from Saudi Arabia and other countries had been repatriated in the last six months
The repatriation operation was conducted with the joint efforts of Ethiopia’s foreign mission in Saudi Arabia — including the Jeddah Embassy — and international organizations, Meles Alem told a press briefing.
Of these, 4,168 citizens were brought back home from Libya, the United Arab Emirates and Tanzania in the last two weeks, he said.
He said Ethiopia has been giving emphasis to the safety of citizens after it embarked on reformation, and stressed that efforts would continue to bring back citizens suffering in foreign lands.
Enhanced activities have been launched to make sure that citizens go abroad as domestic workers legally, he said.
Immediately after taking office as prime minister in April, Abiy Ahmed visited Saudi Arabia from where he came back with a plane full of refugees who lived in agony.
Saudi Arabia had earlier incarcerated thousands of Ethiopians who went there to work as domestic workers, saying most of them were not legal.
On Tuesday 25 November, Ethiopia’s parliament approved the creation of a reconciliation commission as the government seeks to end inter-communal ethnic violence.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has won international praise for his reformist agenda since coming to power in April, including allowing the return of exiled political figures.
However, his mandate has been marked by ethnic violence, mainly between the Oromo community and other minority groups in several parts of the nation.
The objective of the Commission is to maintain peace, justice, national unity and consensus and also reconciliation among Ethiopian peoples.
The commission will also identify the reasons for disputes and violations of human rights. Besides, the commission will investigate abuses and make proposals to the parliament on how to make amends.According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least 2.4 million people have been displaced inside Ethiopia by inter-communal violence.
Ethiopia is on course to become Africa’s fastest-growing economy as a result of various development projects by the East African nation. Apart from this, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank Group is also playing a vital role to support companies and the economy.
In a December 2018 issue, IFC said it is significantly expanding its investments in Ethiopia. In the last five years, the finance group has provided $452 million in new investment commitments across agribusiness, financial, manufacturing, and other sectors while delivering advisory services that support leasing and financial infrastructure and improve the investment climate.
“In Ethiopia, IFC’s work will help expand credit and trade and create markets, while mobilizing private financing that can become a more important factor toward diversifying the country’s economy,” said IFC CEO Philippe Le Houérou, who recently visited the country.
Some of the indices that show the country is marking a giant stride across Africa can be seen in some of the most successful companies.
IFC cited Habesha Breweries, based in central Ethiopian City, introduced two years ago and has expanded three times with its newly introduced Habesha beer with an aspiration to become Ethiopia’s leading brand.
Habesha’s growth plans have been “curtailed by the country’s depreciating currency and competition from global brands such as Heineken and Castle.”
“We are really trying to keep up with the big boys,” said Jort Crevels, Habesha’s finance director. “With IFC’s support, we have no reason not play in that league.” IFC is planning to provide a syndicated-loan facility of up to €70 million to support the company’s €131 million expansion. Habesha aims to increase production nearly eightfold to 4.5 million hectoliters – or almost 119 million gallons of beer – within five years.
To shove up forex risks for investors, IFC signed an agreement with Ethiopia’s central bank to expand trade and local-currency financing. It also entered a multi-year partnership with the central bank to strengthen Ethiopia’s nascent credit-reporting system. “This is part of a broader effort by IFC to support Ethiopia by helping create new markets for private investors,” IFC said.
Since Abiy Ahmed became the country’s prime minister in April 2018, he has been changing the face of the second-most populous nation in Africa. From releasing prisoners, promoting peace with Ethiopia’s former enemy, Eritrea, and with the hope of opening up the economy for potential investors.
He has also recently slashed ministerial positions and made an unprecedented move by constituting a new cabinet that is half female with Sahle-Work Zewde as the country’s president after Mulatu Teshome stepped down in October.
