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Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen today received and held talks with Sergio Pimenta, the International Finance Corporation’s (IFC) Vice President for the Middle East and Africa.

During the meeting, Demeke briefed the IFC’s Vice President on the homegrown economic reform agenda initiated by the Government of Ethiopia to create conducive business and investment environments.

Commending the capacity building support provided by the IFC to Ethiopia’s private sector, the Deputy Prime Minister said the continued support of the Corporation is vital for country’s economic and financial sector reforms.

Sergio Pimenta said the homegrown economic reform agenda is helpful to build stable and strong economy. He also appreciated the government’s move to boost the participation of the private sector in the country’s economy

Pimenta further said the International Finance Corporation will continue to provide capacity building support to Ethiopia’s agricultural sector and to create market linkage between the manufacturing and private sector.

IFC supports the homegrown economic and financial sectors reform initiatives of the country, said the Vice President.

Priceless 18th-centuries Ethiopian Crown hidden for twenty one years by one-time Ethiopian refugee who found it in a suitcase is set to be returned from Netherlands to home.

The idea to return the ornate gilded copper headgear, featuring images of Christ and the Twelve Apostles, came after refugee-turned-Dutch-citizen Sirak Asfaw contacted Dutch ‘art detective’ Arthur Brand, it was learned.

According to AFP news agency, the crown, which is currently being held in a secure location, would soon be handed to Ethiopian authorities.

Sirak, who works as management consultant for the Dutch government today, fled the country in the late 1970s during the so-called “Red Terror” purges.

Once settled in the Netherlands, Sirak used to receive a stream of Ethiopians, including pilots and diplomats, along with people who had fled a continuous cycle of hardship in Africa’s most ancient country, the news agency reported.

While looking for a document, Sirak stumbled upon the crown in a suitcase left behind by one of his visitors in April 1998.

Despite the fact that he realized that it belongs to Ethiopia, he vacillated to return the crown home since the country was ruled by iron-fisted one-party government that would disappear it again.

Sirak, however, said that when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office last year, he felt that things had changed sufficiently in Ethiopia to finally give the crown back.

The Dutch government too confirmed to AFP that Brand had told them about the crown’s existence saying “its authenticity will now have to be established in close cooperation with Ethiopian authorities,” before the next steps will be taken.

Jacopo Gnisci, a research associate at Oxford University who also examined the artifact and confirmed its authenticity, said there were less than two dozen of these crowns, called “zewd”, in existence.

“These crowns are of great cultural and symbolic significance in Ethiopia, as they are usually donated by high-ranking officials to churches in a practice that reaches as far back as the Late Antiquity,” he added.

This crown has an inscription dating to 1633-34, but Gnisci said it was more likely to have been made a century later and was commissioned by one of Ethiopia’s most powerful warlords, “ras” Welde Sellase.

The artifact is currently being stored at a high-security facility in the Netherlands.

Members of the UN Security Council will visit Ethiopia and South Sudan at the end of October, said Jerry Matjila, permanent representative of South Africa to the UN and president of the council for October.

They will be in the Ethiopian capital and home to the headquarters of the African Union (AU) on Oct. 23-24 for annual consultations between the panel and the AU’s Peace and Security Council, Matjila told correspondents at a monthly briefing on Tuesday.

The following day, the envoy said, he will be joined by U.S. Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft, who took up her post on Sept. 12, in leading the mission to Juba for a one-day visit on Oct. 25.

“Already there’s a proposal of the agenda and a series of meetings have been scheduled for this particular mission visit,” he said.

The Security Council mission is expected to leave Addis Ababa on Oct. 26 and come back to New York the following day.

During October the council is slated to discuss issues on the Middle East, preventive diplomacy, several UN missions in Africa, as well as women, peace and security in Africa, winding up with a session on Kosovo, Matjila said.

Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew delivered opening remarks at the Energy Action Forum today hosted by Ford Foundation on the sidelines of the ongoing 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly meeting.

He noted that the Forum is a priority as it is taking place on the eve of the most high-level gathering of Heads of State and Governments dealing with urgent climate change issues since the Paris Conference in 2015. He further underscored Ethiopia’s commitment to building a Climate Resilient Green Economy. He called for stronger focus on access to energy in the poorest and most vulnerable countries in the investment decisions of the Green Climate Fund. 

Ethiopia and Denmark will co-chair the Climate Action Summit of the ongoing 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

The week-long annual meeting of Ambassadors, Heads of Mission and higher officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia concluded today. The meeting was held under the theme of “Institutional Reform for Diplomatic Excellence” from 2-7 September 2019.

Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew noted the previous year had been focused on bringing peace and security to the Horn region and the success had enabled Ethiopia to build trust and create solid cooperation among neighboring countries. He also emphasized the possible ways of building a robust and competitive institution. During the week, the meeting discussed and assessed the Ministry’s major activities and set directions for the next year, reviewing strategic goals and key programs as well as considering the draft Foreign Relations Policy Document and current regional issues.