The Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the IGAD Plus held on Friday 5th of August its Second Extra-Ordinary Summit meeting in Addis Ababa with the attendance of Heads of State from the region and representatives from the UN, African Union, JMEC and IGAD.

The meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia and current Chairperson of the IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government discussed the overall situation in South Sudan. The meeting underscoring the fact that the situation in South Sudan constitutes “a serious threat to regional peace, security and stability” endorsed “the outcome of the meeting of the East African Chiefs of Defense Staff held on 29th July 2016, in Addis Ababa, on the deployment of a Regional Protection Force as the basis for further and urgent discussion with the United Nations towards reaching a common ground on speedy deployment of the Force under UNMISS,” reads a communiqué issued by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the IGAD Plus.

The meeting urging “the UN Security Council to urgently extend the mission of UNMISS with a revised mandate including the deployment of the Regional Protection Force with distinct responsibilities under the direct command of a commander who will report to the overall UNMISS Force Commander, to be based in Juba” directed  “the East African Chiefs of Defense Staff to invite their counterparts in the TGoNU to discuss the modalities of the implementation of their recommendations including the immediate return to the implementation of Chapter Two of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (ARCSS) with the objective of unification and integration of the forces, said the communiqué. The communiqué noted that the position of the Government of South Sudan that accepted in principle the deployment of the Regional Protection Force for the protection of the IDPs, humanitarian agencies and JMEC urged the TGoNU to work expeditiously on the deployment of the Regional Protection Force. The meeting called upon DrRiek Machar to rejoin the peace process, urging “President SalvaKiirMayardit and the people of South Sudan to embrace a return to the spirit of long lasting peace in their country.”

Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn vowed on Saturday (August 8) that Ethiopia is keen to expedite infrastructure development to improve the investment and business climate while inaugurating the 28.1 km Akaki-IT Park (Goro) and Akaki-Lebu asphalt concrete roads. The Premier also noted that the Government has allotted huge sums of money for transport infrastructure projects to turn the country one of the epicenters of investment and FDI destination in Africa, promising that the Government will extend support to local contractors and consultants to engage in the field of infrastructure. The roads were built in just six months by China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) at a cost of 4.6 billion birr. Over 3,000 workers toiled to build the roads. When it opens to traffic, the roads are expected to ease traffic congestion along Akaki-Kaliti road.75 percent of the construction cost was covered by a loan secured from Exim Bank of China while the remaining cost was covered by the Government of Ethiopia. (MFA Ethiopia)

The 2nd National Ethiopian Diaspora Festival (EDC) wrapped up on 2 August 2016 in the presence of PM H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, various other ministers, high level government as well as members of the Ethiopian Diaspora Community.
The closing ceremony included Prime Minister H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn’s answers to various questions from participants to the festival. PM Hailemariam opened his address by thanking the EDC for having participated in the NEDF by sacrificing their valuable time. During his concluding remarks PM Hailemariam stated “Ethiopia is a country that has started to emerge out of the swamp of poverty very recently. And that’s because of the development policies and strategies of the government.” He further added that “In the last 25 years Ethiopia has registered a rapid and sustainable economic development.”

Referring to recurrent global challenges to development, PM Hailemariam said that, “global challenges that face developing countries face Ethiopia too which is why the government is paying special attention to human resources development.”

In the same accord PM Hailemariam has stated that “If we cannot commonly fight against rent-seeking and chauvinism, we might not be able to relish our developmental achievements or else realize our aspirations for prosperity.” He has also called upon the EDC to invest in the Information and Technology (ICT) sector in Ethiopia.

Speaking of the problem of human trafficking, PM Hailemariam stated that, “even if we have worked very hard to minimize the phenomenon people who don’t have jobs will still be tempted to move out of the country under illegal circumstances.” To curb the problem, he remarked that, “We should work towards the creation of more jobs if we are to stop human trafficking on a long-lasting basis.”

In addition, PM Hailemariam ha reiterated the fact that “it is with the active participation of the people – citizen activism – that rent-seeking and corruption could effectively be abated. The gov’t should create a platform in which citizens could participate freely.”

“We have a moral as well as spiritual obligation to invest in and develop Ethiopia. I appeal to you to continue your support to Ethiopia”, the Premier added.

In a related development the City of Hawassa, the capital of the Southern Nations’, Nationalities’ and Peoples’ Regional State is the host earmarked to host the upcoming 3rd NEDF, it was learned. (MFA Ethiopia)

On 15 July 2016, the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources with support from the European Union and Germany launched a 3.8 million euro project to support responsible agricultural investment in Ethiopia.

According to a statement from the European Union office in Addis Abeba, the project will contribute to establish an accountable, conducive and transparent framework for socially and environmentally responsible and productive agricultural investments benefiting local communities and economies. The project will also support the development of a regulatory framework for equitable access to land and secure land tenure for all segments of Ethiopian society while establishing mechanisms to facilitate productive investments in agriculture by national and international private investors. (Allafrica)

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Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tedros Adhanom bids farewell to the outgoing Ambassador of the Netherlands, Ambassador Mrs. Lidi Remmezwaal today (July 27, 2016). Ambassador Mrs. Lidi Remmezwaal noted that relations between Ethiopia and the Netherlands have shown a positive trajectory over the years, adding that the bilateral ties should further be strengthened in the years to come.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tedros Adhanom commended Ambassador Mrs. Lidi Remmezwaal for the unreserved efforts and hard work she dedicated for enhanced bilateral ties between Ethiopia and the Netherlands. “During you tenure,” the Minister added “the bilateral relation between Ethiopia and the Netherlands has achieved strong and admirable progress.” (MFA Ethiopia)

The European Union (EU) granted 20-million Euros to Ethiopia on Thursday. At the grant agreement on Thursday (July 28) EU Ambassador to Ethiopia Chantal Hebberecht said the program will help create jobs and improve the livelihoods of women and youth in Ethiopia. Ms Hebbrechted noted that Ethiopia is an important player in the Horn of Africa and a key partner of the EU in migration management. Hebberecht recalled that the agreement is part of the Stemming Irregular Migration from Northern and Central Ethiopia (SINCE) Project launched in November 2015 in Valletta summit to strengthen cooperation between EU and Africa on migration.

Italy’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Giuseppe Mistretta, on his part noted that Italy reaffirms its commitment to support the Ethiopian government to address the root cause of migration. According to the ambassador, the agreement is necessary to reduce irregular migration in Amhara, Oromia, Tigray, and Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ of Ethiopia regional states. (MFA Ethiopia)

The third issue of The Ethiopian Messenger is now available ! Click below to read it.

 

 

Welcome to a special edition of Inside the Issue show – Ambassador’s Talk! Where we speak to African ambassadors about the state of EU-African relations with a focus on their national relationship with the EU. This time around Ethiopian Ambassador, Teshome Toga talks to What’s in it for Africa about the African economy, EU-Ethiopia and EU-Africa relations, Trade and Migration.

 

Kibret Abebe Tuffa is the founder and owner of Tebita Ambulance Pre-Hospital Emergency Medical Service, a social enterprise that developed the first private ambulance service in Ethiopia. He was also a panelist at the 2016 European Development Days in Brussels in the debate “Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals: How can we make business more social?” hosted by the British Council in partnership with the World Bank.

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Press Release on debate at the European Development Days

Press Kit on Tebita Ambulance Service

 

The Ambassador of Ethiopia to the Benelux, Baltic States and EU, H.E. Mr Teshome Toga, visited CTA on 20 July 2016.

During his visit, H.E. Teshome Toga highlighted the significant role that agriculture plays in Ethiopia’s economy, not only as a source of livelihood for over 80% of the population but also as the main engine for the country’s impressive economic growth in the last decade.

Read more on CTA’s website.