2023 New Year’s Message from Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of #Ethiopia, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen

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Dear members of the diplomatic community, Representatives of regional and international organizations based in Addis Ababa,
All people who celebrate the New Year according to the Gregorian calendar,
We are on the eve of welcoming a new year and bidding farewell to 2022.
I wish you and your families a very happy new year! Best wishes for 2023!
As you are aware, Ethiopia has encountered numerous internal and external challenges in the year 2022. The conflict in the northern part of my country was one of the gravest challenges.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all parties that helped us forge a peace deal that all Ethiopians deserved.
I sincerely believe that you will continue to stand with us in implementing the peace agreement which is an outcome of the maxim, “African Solutions to African Problems”, and support the reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in the conflict affected areas.
Despite the hurdles we faced, our country was able to achieve outstanding outcomes that paved the way for Ethiopians to enjoy a bright future.
Ethiopia welcomes the New Year with the hope of sharing our optimism for a better tomorrow with you all. We aspire to see a better 2023 with a strengthened relationship with our partners.
Let us march together in the spirit of the New Year to a prosperous future. Happy New Year!

Time_to_InvestInEthiopia #Ethiopia

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Ethiopia has vast mineral potential. It has known reserves of more than 30 metallic, industrial, agro, and construction minerals in addition to gold, rare gemstones, oil, and gas which makes Ethiopia ideal for mining investment. Ethiopia is also home to one of the oldest geological surveys on the continent come and invest in this resourceful sector.
Ethiopian Investment Commission #EIC

Annual Retreat of Mission Leaders and Senior Officials Kicks Off in Sululta at AFLEX

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The annual performance evaluation and planning retreat of senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia kicks off in Sululta today (December 26) at the African Leadership Excellence Academy.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen, delivered opening remarks, highlighting the internal and external challenges that tested Ethiopia’s diplomacy.
He cited the fighting in the country’s north, negotiations on the construction and filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, and Ethiopia-Sudan border conflicts as illustrations.


“Our ambassadors and diplomats deserve praise,” he said, “since they were effective in preserving Ethiopia’s interests, living up to Ethiopians’ aspirations and the country’s rich heritage.”
Because many issues do not receive definitive resolution in the diplomatic arena, and because world geopolitics is unpredictable, he said Ethiopian diplomats should operate proactively and in accordance with the Ministry’s reengagement strategy objectives.
H.E. Ambassador Birtukan Ayano, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, briefed the media on the retreat’s main goals at Sululta.
According to Ambassador Birtukan, the ambassadors will reflect on the challenges of 2022 and the solutions given to them, besides laying out the core issues of engagement in the upcoming year.
She also mentioned the visits last week to over 10 institutions in Addis Ababa and Bishoftu that were designed to show the fruits of the reform process and reveal what is expected of the ambassadors in augmenting the capacity of some of the institutions.
The opening program of the retreat, which will be held for two consecutive weeks, was attended by State Ministers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including H.E. Ambassador Tesfaye Yilma, Heads and Deputy Heads of Missions, Directorate Generals, and leadership of institutions affiliated with the Ministry.

DPM and FM Demeke Mekonnen call for addressing the root causes of illegal migration

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Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen, called on Ethiopians to tackle the challenges of human trafficking by addressing its root causes.
He said many Ethiopians became victims of human traffickers, drawn by the success stories of a few individuals that could not represent the whole picture of migration and its perils.


The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister was addressing a forum that is being held in Hosanna City under the theme, “Let’s prevent human trafficking together through strong community participation.”
According to Mr. Demeke, human trafficking and illegal migration have been the challenges of the country, in addition to the conflict in the north.
The recent tragedies that befall our citizens in Malawi and Zambia demonstrate how serious the problem is, he said.
In just one year, Mr. Demeke said, more than 100,000 illegal migrants were repatriated, while more than 5,000 prisoners still remain in Tanzania.
Furthermore, he stated that the forum is being held in Hosanna because, according to studies, it is one of the areas that is highly affected by human trafficking in the country.
Awareness campaigns will be strengthened in the northeastern parts of the country, where the problem is also prominent, he added.
President of the Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples regional state, H.E. Mr. Ristu Yerdaw, Minister of Women and Social Affairs, H.E. Ergoge Tesfaye, and Minister of Justice, Mr. Gedion Timothewos, also gave opening remarks. Other ministers and ambassadors were also present at the forum.

The #AU Commission convenes 2nd Senior Commanders …

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The #AU Commission convenes 2nd Senior Commanders Meeting between the Federal Democratic Republic of #Ethiopia (FDRE) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front on the Implementation of the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA). Please click on the link for the press release:

https://peaceau.org/en/article/the-african-union-commission-convenes-2nd-senior-commanders-meeting-between-the-federal-democratic-republic-of-ethiopia-fdre-and-the-tigray-people-s-liberation-front-on-the-implementation-of-the-permanent-cessation-of-hostilities-agreement-coha

The Ethiopian Embassy in Washington D.C. made a visit to a Coffee Roasting Facility named Compass Coffee.

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Compass Coffee sources, amongst others, Ethiopian specialty (primarily Guji and Yirgachefe) coffees and provides roasted and packaged coffee beans to consumers.


The coffee beans used to make the packaging are freshly sourced from Ethiopia which goes through a careful selection process and are given detailed attention to the final process of roasting process and packaging.
Staff members of the Ethiopian Embassy were given a tour of the roasting facility by experts of the company as they provided an up-close experience of their facility’s coffee beans roasting process.
Vice President of Compass Coffee Mr. Max Deem, Events manager Emma Hunt and Production Manager Mr. Chaz expressed their interest to work closely with the Embassy and to continue deepening relationships with the people of Ethiopia and source more quality Ethiopian coffee.

Heads and deputy heads of Ethiopian missions, as well as senior officials….

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Heads and deputy heads of Ethiopian missions, as well as senior officials from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, are touring significant development sites and sectors that are part of the country’s ongoing reform process. Participants reported satisfaction with their trips, which allowed them to understand the sectors’ strengths. They also acknowledged their role in bolstering the sectors’ capabilities through their diplomatic experience.

“I held a candid and productive meeting with @SecBlinken….

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“I held a candid and productive meeting with @SecBlinken. I expressed our appreciation to the US for their contribution in our efforts to achieve peace. For decades Ethiopia has been a key ally of the U.S. in Africa and we discussed ways of strengthening our partnership.” H.E. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held a constructive discussion with US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

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They discussed a host of issues including the implementation of the cessation of hostilities, the political and economic reform initiatives of the government and the way forward in revitalizing the historical bilateral relationship.
Office of the Prime Minister-Ethiopia

Acceptance Statement for the Outstanding African Leadership Award

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I would like to thank the American Academy of Achievement and the Global Hope Coalition for extending a hand of friendship to the African continent and for recognizing Ethiopia’s Green Legacy initiative as an African success story.
Indeed, our continent is filled with many success stories – past, present and future. The perspective that African countries are net producers of problems that always require external assistance is an outdated one. Therefore, great appreciation to the organizers for lighting a torch on the continent’s net production of solutions.
As the global community continues to be confronted with the adverse effects of climate change, in Ethiopia we chose to undertake bold and practical solutions to address the issue. When in 2019 we launched the Green Legacy initiative as a proudly African nation and as a government navigating turbulent times, Ethiopians from corner to corner rose up armed with seedlings to cover the nation green.
The act of planting a tree is an act of faith by a young and hopeful nation. In most of Ethiopia, June to August is the rainy season, where the air cools, the dust settles, the rain quenches the thirst of the land after 9 months of heat, and the soil softens, making it hospitable for young fragile seedlings to establish roots.
In the course of these 3 months, the Green Legacy initiative invites our people to come out of their homes and places of work, walk out in unison to a field with a seedling in hand, dig a little hole in the ground and place the seedling.


Four years into the implementation of the Green Legacy Initiative, we have mobilized 25million Ethiopians across the nation to plant 25 billion seedlings, equivalent to 250 seedlings per Ethiopian. The impact could be equated to removing 64 million gasoline-powered cars from the roads for a whole year.
Today, Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative is the most extensive afforestation and reforestation program next to the Amazon. Besides the tree planting afforestation and reforestation efforts, Ethiopia has also put over 700,000 hectares of existing biodiversity and carbon-rich natural forests under a sustainable participatory forest management scheme.
By 2022, our Green Legacy initiative has fostered a flourishing national green culture, tripling the number of seedling nurseries to more than 121,000; creating more than 750,000 jobs mostly for women and youth; and generating 1.3 billion Ethiopian Birr in income.
Seedlings have also been shared with neighboring countries to bolster regional cooperation for transboundary ecosystem management.
Our Green Legacy Initiative will certainly contribute towards removing the equivalent of hundreds of millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and reduce deforestation. This implies Ethiopia’s significant contribution to the global climate change mitigation efforts.
Ethiopia’s tangible contribution to the overall global afforestation and reforestation pledge is impressive by any standard, but even more so when it has been financed primarily by domestic resources and efforts. Building on this success, Ethiopia plans to restore an additional 22 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. We are also developing a green fund and will pursue carbon trading schemes to help raise additional financing.
As a nation, we may and we do have differences in the way we interpret the past and the way we envision the future – but we are united in the hope we have for our children and our planet.
We aspire to reverse deforestation and build a green society in Ethiopia and Africa. We have no doubt that our Green Legacy story will motivate a global mobilization toward reconciling our modern civilization with our planet and ecosystems.
December 13, 2022