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The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has learnt with disappointment of the decision of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to cancel the deployment of its observation mission for the upcoming general elections.

All possible efforts were made by the Government to conclude the Administrative Arrangement for the deployment of the mission, but these were to no avail.

When the EU requested to observe the 6^th national elections earlier this year, the Government of Ethiopia immediately accepted and started negotiating in good faith on the draft agreement for the deployment of the observation mission.

All concerned government institutions and the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) were engaged in the process, and while work was underway to finalize the agreement, the government also welcomed and facilitated the visit of the Exploratory Mission of the EU to Ethiopia two month ago.

The Exploratory Mission had a productive stay and held discussions with various stakeholders. This was the impression the government obtained from the Mission upon the completion of its work and whose recommendations later on led to the decision by the EU to deploy the observer mission.

While the Government was working tirelessly and expeditiously hoping to reach an agreement on the modality of the deployment, it is very unfortunate to have learnt that the issue of communications equipment was put forth as a deal-breaker for the EU to observe one of the most hoped-for democratic elections in the country’s history.

The Government of Ethiopia, from the beginning, has made it abundantly clear that VSAT services can only be provided by the Ethio-telecom while accepting additional requests by the EU to import related equipment.

As an important strategic partner and staunch supporter of the reform process, this demand by the EU has come as a surprise to the government of Ethiopia, as none of these elements were a bone of contention in past elections. At a time when the telecommunication infrastructure in Ethiopia has made huge strides employing the latest available technologies, questioning the effectiveness and efficiency of its services is not a convincing reason to take the hasty decision of cancelling the mission’s deployment.

In the same vein, the EU has also rejected the proposal by the Ethiopian side to include in the agreement that statements or public comments by the observer mission prior to the issuance of its preliminary findings and conclusions not be prejudicial to the election process or influence the perception of the public, on the result of the election to be announced only by NEBE.

This concern stems from the fact that in the past, such pronouncements by other EU observer missions had serious repercussions on the country as a whole.

The Government is committed to make the upcoming elections free, fair, and democratic and is determined to continue working with all stakeholders to make it so.

While external observers could add some value to strengthen the quality of electoral processes, they are neither essential nor necessary to certify the credibility of an election. The validity and legitimacy of Ethiopia’s election is determined solely by Ethiopian laws, Ethiopian institutions, and ultimately, by the people of Ethiopia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia had to issue this press statement because of the unwarranted, provocative and increasingly bellicose propaganda campaign by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of the Sudan against Ethiopia. Ethiopia has for long refrained from reacting to the numerous fabricated stories appearing in the press statements of Sudanese institutions and remarks by government officials taking into account the historic and fraternal relations between the brotherly peoples of Ethiopia and the Sudan. However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia with a view of putting the record straight would like to make the following points very clear to the brotherly people of the Sudan and the international community at large.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sudan in its press statement issued on 1st May 2021, has once again attempted to mislead the people of the Sudan and the international community on issues related to the Ethiopia-Sudan boundary and the trilateral negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). Ethiopia, as an old independent and sovereign country, has time tested reputation in respecting international treaties and obligations it has signed.

The unfounded statement of the Sudanese Foreign Ministry only aims at covering up the continuing aggression committed by the Sudan since 6 November 2020, in violation of international principles, bilateral agreements and established joint boundary mechanisms. The unprecedented hostile military actions by the Sudan, the current Chair of our regional organization, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), has resulted in the looting and burning of properties, killing of civilians as well as, the displacement of thousands of Ethiopians.

Ethiopia strongly believes that all the recent actions and vitriolic propaganda campaigns of the Government of the Sudan against Ethiopia do not reflect the wishes and aspirations of the peace-loving people of the Sudan. Ethiopia has been consistently calling the Government of the Sudan to reverse its aggression and resolve the boundary issue in accordance with bilateral agreements and joint boundary mechanisms to finalize the re-demarcation process.

The reference in the Sudanese statement to the Benishangul Gumuz Region of Ethiopia is indeed utterly ridiculous. It is common knowledge that Ethiopia’s historic territories in the west would have been extended beyond what is now Ethiopia`s boundary if it was not for the existing boundary agreements.

The attempt by the Government of the Sudan to mix the boundary treaties with the unjust, exclusive and colonial-based bilateral “agreements” on the utilization of the waters of the Nile is regrettable. As far as Ethiopia is concerned, it has repeatedly expressed its position regarding those colonial-based agreements, whose sole aim was and still is to deny the rights of upper riparian states, including Ethiopia, to use the waters of the Nile. Ethiopia, therefore categorically rejects any and all attempts to preserve a self-appropriated water quota among the downstream countries. The insistence of downstream countries to monopolize the waters of the Nile and politicization of technical issues are the main challenges that the trilateral negotiations have faced.

Ethiopia calls for the peaceful resolution of the boundary issues with the Sudan based on the existing joint boundary mechanisms and finalizing the trilateral negotiations on the GERD in accordance with the Declaration of Principles (DoP) of 2015. In fact, it is not clear, to whose interest that the current authorities in the Sudan have suddenly changed their position, although they had repeatedly pointed out that the GERD has enormous benefits to the Sudan.

Ethiopia highly values the historical and brotherly relations that exist between the two countries and thus still committed to address all related issues through dialogue and negotiations. It once again calls upon the Government of the Sudan to desist from an unhelpful campaign and commit itself to dialogue and peaceful resolution. In this connection, Ethiopia looks forward to the engagement of the international community in encouraging the Sudan towards a peaceful resolution of the dispute.

Spokesperson Office

04 May 2021

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen have extended their best wishes of Easter celebration to all Ethiopian Christians.

Easter, which celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is one of the most important Christian festivals in Ethiopia.

In his message to the faithful, the Prime Minister said “we celebrate this year’s Easter in the midst of hope and struggle.”

“We are celebrating the holiday looking forward with optimism to the resurrection of our country on one hand, and battling hard to overcome the challenges that lie ahead of us on the other hand,” he said.

According to the Prime Minister, the upcoming general election in May and second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in July are the millstones to Ethiopia’s resurrection.

In his message, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen, called on all Ethiopians “to stand united to overcome the challenged we faced now.”

He also urged the people to act responsibly and provide support to rehabilitate those community members displaced due to conflicts and ethnic-based attacks.

Finally, both the Prime Minister and his Deputy wished all Ethiopian Christians a happy Easter celebration.

The National Macroeconomic Committee led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has tabled first nine months report focusing on achievements and challenges of the economic sector in the light of implementation of the homegrown economic reforms.

The National Macroeconomic Committee which is coordinating the reform activities said the ongoing homegrown economic reform is playing a big role in resuscitating the economy that was faced by various challenges.

The report tabled by the Macroeconomic team says the economic growth registered before the ongoing reform did not benefit the general public and failed to proceed due to debt burdens and related problems.

Based on the homegrown economic reform, the government has managed to benefit citizens from the economic growth in fair and equitable manner, and set up effective monitoring and follow up system in line with fixing the insolvency caused by mismanagement.

Now the country is witnessing a remarkable economic revival and stagnated mega projects including the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) are well undergoing well and reaching completion, the report indicates.

The export earnings of Ethiopia has increased by 21 percent and surpassed 2 billion US Dollars and seen 17pct increase compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year, the Committee says.

The government has put in place several measures to mitigate impacts of the pandemic on the economy, and better results have been gained, it is indicated on the report.

Private companies have been given green light to import basic commodities using their own forex to control the inflation.

Several promising activities have been carried out to stimulate and tourism sector and a wide range of attraction sites development works have been undertaken, it is shown on the report.

Regarding the agricultural sector, the committee indicated that the irrigation-based lowland wheat production practice and the cluster farming drive are witnessing promising achievements in terms of import substitution and production increment.

For the latest updates from the Horn of Africa checkout our weekly online magazine A Week in the Horn April 30, 2021. Get the major news stories in the week about Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Djibouti, South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and AU.

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