At the invitation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo of Somalia arrived in the city of Gondar, Amhara regional state, today.

The three leaders will hold a tripartite meeting to cement the outcome of the Horn of Africa economic integration agreement signed in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, last September. They are also expected to visit various development projects in Gondar and Bahir Dar.

This is the second meeting between the three leaders of the Horn of Africa. They first met in the first week of September this year in Eritrea’s capital Asmara following which they issued a four-pillar comprehensive joint declaration, which included the establishment of a high-level committee tasked to oversee the multifaceted collaborations included in the declaration.

The joint declaration was issued “considering that the peoples of Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea share close ties of geography, history, culture, and religion as well as vital common interests.” The statement also highlighted the declaration to promote relations between the three Horn of African countries was in the spirit and understanding of “respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; as well as desiring to bolster their historical ties to achieve their lofty objectives.”

 

With the assistance of China, Ethiopia is set to launch its first earth observatory satellite in September 2019.

“The satellite will be launched from China while the control and command station will be in Ethiopia. Most preliminary and critical design is done by our scientists,” says Dr. Solomon Belay Tessema, Senior Scientist and Director General of Ethiopian Space Science and Technology Institute at the Addis Ababa University.

China has provided six million dollars in financial support, in addition to training and launching cost.

“Our main goals by launching this first satellite are two. The first one is build technology application capacity and skills of our engineers through collaborations with different countries’ space scientists and institutions. So that they will be in a position to design, build and launch the second satellite independently. The second one is the direct support the first satellite gives to the social and economic development in terms of saving the money the country is currently spending for buying data, such as climate data,” he said.

He stated that the main focus of Ethiopia’s first satellite will be to gather data inputs related to water, agriculture, climate change, and environmental protection. Currently, there are 20 Ethiopian engineers involved in the launching and design of the first satellite.

“We use home-based strategy, which involves local engineers and students at MA and Ph.D.-level to be part of the science and applications of the technology and knowledge transfer,” Dr. Solomon said.

Reports show that in Africa, South Africa and Algeria have already launched their own communication satellite to the orbit so far, while Egypt has ordered one being assembled at the Airbus Assembly in Toulouse. Ghana is also said to be currently developing its own satellite.

In addition to the 20 Ethiopian space engineers, currently, there are some 60 Ph.D. and MA students at the Addis Ababa University Space Science and Technology Institute, which is teaching them in collaboration with Entoto Observatory and Research Center and many universities from across the world. Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space Science ad Application, Remote Sensing ad Geodesy are the four major areas the students are currently studying. Students from other African countries such as Rwanda and Tanzania are also among the students.

Since it has opened its doors for students in 2014, the Institute has been collaborating with Universities of space science in different countries such as United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Russia, South Korea, and Chili.

Florida University, Paris Observatory, Torino and Rome universities, Korean Astronomy and Space Institute, Leister University and Moscow Universities are some of the partners of the Space Science and Technology Institute of Ethiopia where its students jointly exercise applications of space science technology, according to Dr. Solomon.

In addition, he also mentioned that South Africa’s North Western University, South Africa Space Agency, Cape Town University, South Africa Astronomy Observatory and Mbarara University of Science and Technology of Uganda and Rwanda Science and Technology University are also working with his institute.

He stated that the total spending on the satellite is estimated to cost around eight million dollars without taking into consideration insurance training cost. The cost includes design, development, and manufacturing of the satellite, which is done by both Ethiopian professionals and their Chinese partners.

Source: New Business Ethiopia

The UN Security Council is preparing to lift sanctions on Eritrea after the United States dropped its insistence on prolonging the measures despite a peace deal with Ethiopia.

According to some sources, Britain circulated a draft resolution to the council on Thursday that calls for lifting the arms embargo and all travel bans, asset freezes and targeted sanctions on Eritrea.

The council is to vote on the proposed resolution on November 14, 2018. Diplomats said they expected the measure to be adopted after the US change in position.

Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a peace deal in July, but the United States, backed by France and Britain, insisted that Eritrea would first have to show progress on respect for human rights before sanctions could be lifted.

That position, however, recently changed — a shift some diplomats said was decided by US national security adviser John Bolton, who dealt with the Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict when he served as UN ambassador.

The council slapped sanctions on Eritrea in 2009 for its alleged support to Al-Shabaab jihadists in Somalia, but the draft resolution acknowledged that UN monitors had “not found conclusive evidence that Eritrea supports Al-Shabaab.”

The sanctions and arms embargo will end on the day of the adoption of the resolution, according to the text.

The peace declaration signed in July by the prime ministers of Eritrea and Ethiopia ended two decades of hostility and triggered a thaw in relations with Djibouti and Somalia that shored up stability in the Horn of Africa.

Ethiopia and Somalia had backed Eritrea’s call to end sanctions.

The draft resolution calls on Eritrea and Djibouti to continue to improve relations after the leaders met in Saudi Arabia in September to resolve a border dispute.

Prime Minister Abiy returned to Addis Ababa in the early hours of Thursday flying in from Frankfurt Germany where he had addressed thousands of Ethiopians from all over Europe gathered at the Commerzbank Arena 

Frankfurt was the final leg of a three-city tour that started in Paris and on to Berlin, where he met with the leaders of Germany and France.

He also represented Ethiopia at the G20-Compact with Africa summit that was hosted by the German government. Abiy made a strong case for G20 investment in Ethiopia which he stressed presented a competitive investment opportunity with ongoing reforms.

The Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt was his first engagement with fellow nationals in Europe with whom he shared three key messages –the need for peace, respect for the upcoming electoral process whiles reiterating the need to contribute towards the ongoing reforms back home.

The Prime Minister, who has championed several reforms across the social, economic, political and diplomatic spectrum, called on Ethiopians in the diaspora to ‘unite and build’ the country.

“Let’s unite and build the future Ethiopia. It is the responsibility of all to strive and do more to build a democratic Ethiopia,” the premier said.

The prime minister who sought to attract investment from France and Germany during his European trip also called upon Ethiopians to ‘draw lessons from Europe how to defeat poverty’.

He pledged to tackle the economic issues of unemployment and inflation affecting Ethiopia.

Abiy also vowed to deal with the current conflicts in some parts of the country, even as he pursues positive diplomatic relations with allies.

Abiy has consistently called on Ethiopians in the diaspora to engage in ongoing efforts to reform the country. In Frankfurt, Abiy tasked Ethiopians, whom he described as ambassadors of their country to contribute by ‘raising a dollar.’

Ethiopia’s parliament on Thursday swore in the country’s first female supreme court president, building on efforts by reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to achieve gender parity in government.

The appointment of Meaza Ashenafi comes two weeks after Abiy named ten female ministers to make Ethiopia the third country in Africa – after Rwanda and Seychelles – to have its cabinet split equally between men and women.

A prominent human rights lawyer, Meaza recently served as an adviser on women’s rights at the Addis Ababa-based United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

Naming her as his pick to head the Supreme Court, PM Abiy told lawmakers the court system needed improved capacities “to successfully implement demands made with regards to justice, democracy, and change in our country.

Meaza served as a Judge of the High Court of Ethiopia between 1989 and 1992. In 1993 she was appointed by the Ethiopian Constitution Commission as a legal adviser. She founded the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA) and became its executive director.

She helped lead the development of the first women’s bank in Ethiopia, Enat Bank, which was established in 2011 and as of 2016 chairs its board of directors.

“I have made the nomination with the firm belief that she has the capacity required, with her vast international experience in mind.”

Parliament unanimously approved Abiy’s choice.

Under Ethiopia’s constitution, the court system operates independently of government.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved yesterday a $1.2 billion ($600 million grant and $600 million credit) from IDA in support of the Government of Ethiopia’s policies designed to accelerate economic growth and achieve its vision of becoming a lower-middle-income country.

The funds will go towards supporting reforms in the financial sector, including improving the investment climate.

In response to the reform pledges made by the government since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in April, the bank is providing new financial and technical support.

The support will promote public-private partnerships “to improve efficiency in key sectors” including telecom, power, and trade logistics.

Promoting public-private partnerships (PPPs) will not only improve efficiency in key sectors such as telecom, power and trade logistics but also mobilize private financing which will enable Ethiopia to maximize the resources available for development financing.

In these sectors, the bank said its support would also help the government “reduce inefficiencies and operating costs and improve financial performance” to help Ethiopia attract more foreign direct investment and raise export revenues.

Until Abiy took office and began announcing sweeping political and economic reforms, the country of 105 million had an economy tightly controlled by the state.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in Germany yesterday on the second leg of his three cities European tour.

He was received by German’s Chancellor Angela Merkel to discuss the reforms underway in Ethiopia, investment opportunities for German companies and peace efforts in the wider Horn of Africa region.

After the meeting, PM Abiy joined the second edition of the G20 Compact with Africa (CwA) meeting currently underway in Berlin.

At the G20 Compact with Africa, Prime Abiy wooed investors to partner with the government in key areas by presenting the many initiatives underway to create a conducive investment climate in Ethiopia.

“Ethiopia offers a competitive investment opportunity. I would like to take this opportunity to mention the strategic engagement we just started ….as a concrete example of what the compact initiative can deliver when focused on targeted investment, recruitment, and facilitation.

“We would like to see similar investment from G20 countries and hope this platform continues to play a driving and catalytical role,” Abiy said in his address.

His last stop on the three-city tour is the German city of Frankfurt, where he will meet with Ethiopians from different European countries.

Abiy Ahmed met French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday 29 October, on his first official visit to Europe since taking office in April.

In a joint declaration issued by Prime Minister Abiy and President Macron, the two leaders have agreed to cooperate in a wide range of issues. Abiy said he expects Macron to play a key role in peacemaking efforts between neighbouring Eritrea and Djibouti, which have agreed last month to normalise ties a decade after a border standoff that led to a brief military conflict.

He also vowed to tackle the violence gripping some parts of Ethiopia, saying it would be resolved through “greater peace-building in the whole country”.

Macron and Abiy also pledged to increase cultural cooperation, especially on World Heritage sites such as the rock-hewn churches of Lalibela. France will contribute to the maintenance and renovation of the site.

“We will be by at your side in your efforts to open policies, unification of the country, calming domestic tensions. We will be by your side in your efforts of economic transformation and liberalisation. We will be there for the regional pacification you are leading”, Macron said.

“You have here a country which loves your but also admires the transformation you are carrying out”.

“I know how much he has risked to see these reforms through and how much these reforms are fraught with difficulties, but also how much Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has chosen a courageous path,” Macron told reporters.

He added that the political, economic, social and cultural transformation that the Abiy leadership is in the process of carrying out and committed to Ethiopia is unprecedented.

Ethiopia’s new leader “chose a courageous path, we will stand by his side,” Macron reaffirmed at a news conference.

President Macron announced he would visit Ethiopia in March.

 

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officially inaugurated the 3.8 billion birr Rib Irrigational Dam Project yesterday.

Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, President of Amhara Regional State Gedu Andargachew and other federal and senior regional officials also presided over the inauguration of the dam.

Located in South Gondar Zone of Amhara Regional State, the Rib Irrigation Dam Project has a capacity of 234 million cubic meters of water.

With 800 meters of length and 99.5 meters of height, the Dam is expected to develop over 20, 000 hectare of land and benefit 40, 000 farmers.

Moreover, the Dam will protect Lake Tana from alluvial deposits, especially soils formed in the river valleys.

The construction of the project was started ten years ago by Ethiopian Construction Works Corporation.

Speaking on the inaugural ceremony, Prime Minister Abiy said that the government would work to improve the livelihood of people through moving forward irrigational scheme and by promoting technological mechanisms of farming in the country.

“Share of irrigation farming in the agriculture is 10 percent, which only accounts four percent of the overall GDP share,” he said adding that “the government set to take irrigational scheme as its core development agenda.”

He noted that the newly established Irrigation Commission would invigorate a wide range of activities to change the livelihood of people through developing the sector.

Abiy added that the government would provide modern techniques of agriculture and professional support to the farmers to enhance agricultural productivity across the country.

Ethiopia has announced a date for the start of a visa-on-arrival regime for all Africans. Africa’s second most populous nation will start the visa-on-arrival regime from November 9, 2018.

PM Abiy had earlier this year disclosed that following Rwanda’s lead, Ethiopia was going to allow a visa-free regime for all Africans. At the time, he was speaking at a state banquet held for his visiting Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame.

Abiy said: “The President (Kagame) invited all Africans to travel to Rwanda without visas, we will follow you very soon.” On June 1, the issuance of visas online for all tourists started.

Ethiopia boasts the continent’s best national carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, which has made the Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, not just a regional but a global aviation hub.

Ethiopia hopes the visa-on-arrival initiative would facilitate the economic integration of Africa by pushing tourist flow to a higher level and help advance conference tourism.

The east African country, which hosts the headquarters of the continental body, the African Union (AU), also hopes that the move will assist the AU’s initiative on the free movement of people. The AU urged all African countries to issue visa on arrival as of 2023.