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The Spokesperson of The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, H.E. Ambassador Dina Mufti, has presented the Ministry’s biweekly press briefing today (March 09) focusing on political diplomacy, the GERD issue, and major activities related to Economic Diplomacy and citizen-centered diplomacy.

I. Political Diplomacy

• H.E. President Sahle-Work Zewde on Friday (March 05) received the credentials of the Ambassadors of the U.S.A., Kenya, Switzerland, Chad, and Gambia. They had discussions over bilateral, regional issues. They noted the importance of solving African solutions to African problems. The President has also briefed the Ambassador on current situations in the Tigray region.

• Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H.E. Demeke Mekonnen had briefed Ambassadors and representatives of members of the United Nations Security Council in Addis Ababa on the current situation in Tigray. According to Mr.Demeke:

• Unfettered humanitarian access, including to international media has been granted in Tigray
• Joint investigation on human rights violations is underway.
• -3.5 million beneficiaries of the humanitarian assistance have now been reached through a cluster-based approach,
• Infrastructures that were destroyed by the TPLF forces are now being rebuilt and have resumed services.
• he also addressed concerns with regards to the challenges that some journalists and translators faced, coordination in terms of delivering humanitarian aid to some places, and the presence of foreign troops in the region.

• Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen had a phone conversation yesterday with Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Marc Garneau on issues of mutual concern, particularly the situation in Tigray with regard to humanitarian support activities and human rights concerns, and the upcoming general election in Ethiopia. Mr. Demeke told the Canadian minister that despite the unimpeded access to humanitarians, support from the international community does not exceed the government’s enormous contribution in delivering food and non-food items.

• Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen welcomed at his office today (March 08), US Ambassador to Ethiopia, H.E. Geeta Pasi. Noting the multifaceted relationship between the two countries, particularly in education, health, and security issues, they underscored the need to scale it up with expanded engagements. Mr.Demeke expressed his hope that the unhindered access to humanitarian support in the region will be followed by extensive support from the international community.

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia celebrated yesterday International Women’s Day under the theme, “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID 19 world”.On the occasion, State Minister H.E Ambassador Birtukan Ayano, said the day symbolizes the sacrifice paid by women, the successes achieved, and barriers that need to be removed for more equality. There used to be very few women in diplomacy said the State Minister, but now we are witnessing advances through all of the reforms the Ministry has gone through so far. She urged women in the diplomatic field to work towards achieving the economic and security interests of the country, promoting its positive images, and working for regional peace with the utmost discipline.

II. GERD

• Members of the Presidential Panel formed by the President of the DRC on the tripartite negotiations on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam had visited Ethiopia from March 03 to 07, 2021. During the meeting, the delegation held talks with the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, and representatives of negotiating countries.

III. Economic Diplomacy

• Ethiopian Embassy in Brussels and Ethiopian Airlines’ Benelux Area Office co-organized a virtual event last week titled “Ethiopian’s Tourism Potentials: Promoting Ethiopia as a Preferred Destination for Tourists”. The event was aimed to promote Ethiopian tourism to the tour operators based in Belgium and Luxembourg, connect Ethiopian tour operators with Belgian and Luxembourger counterparts, and create a platform for discussions on the prospects and challenges of the sector.

• The consulate general of Ethiopia in Chongqing, China participated in an online meeting with a joint meeting of Chagan, a Chinese car manufacturer, and Ethio-Engineering Group, where the two agreed to work together to assemble cars in Ethiopia.

IV. Citizen-centered Diplomacy

• The government of Ethiopia has expressed condolences over the death of many prisoners in a migrant detention center in Yemen due to fire. Our embassy in Oman is following the matter closely. The government of Ethiopia would like to reiterate that people should avoid illegal traveling and hoodwinked by human traffickers.

• We have repatriated 54 citizens from Beirut, 676 from Riyadh, and 341 from Jeddah over the week.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen welcomed at his office today (March 08), US Ambassador to Ethiopia, H.E. Geeta Pasi.

The two sides commended the longstanding and fraternal relationship that exists between Ethiopia and the United States.

Noting the multifaceted relationship between the two countries, particularly in education, health, and security issues, they underscored the need to scale it up with expanded engagements.

Ambassador Geeta said Ethiopia is the focal point for the US in the region and called on to work together for peace and security.

The Deputy Prime Minister used the opportunity to brief the US Ambassador on the genesis of the law enforcement operation in the Tigray region.

He said all of the belligerent actions and intransigence of the TPLF group left the federal government with no option other than to carry out the campaign to end impunity and restore law and order in the region.

Mr.Demeke’s briefing included situations on the aftermath of the active phase of the law enforcement campaign that necessitated the launching of a massive rehabilitation and rebuilding efforts by the government.

In explaining the existing situations currently, he reiterated that humanitarians and journalists have been given unimpeded access in the region and many are working on the ground.

In this regard, he said the government has covered 70% of the delivery of food and non-food items to about 3.8 million people in the region so far.

He expressed his hope that the unhindered access to humanitarian support in the region will be followed by extensive support from the international community.

Ethiopia has received 2.2 million doses of Astra Zeneca COVID-19 vaccines under the global COVAX scheme.

Senior government officials, including Minister of Health,  Dr Lia Tadesse, were at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport this morning  to receive  the vaccines.

The Ministry of Health on Friday said it was making preparation to launch a vaccination program soon for prioritized population groups.

Ethiopia recently announced plan to vaccinate 20% of its population against the pandemic by the end of 2021.

According to the Ministry, the number of new COVID-19 infections and deaths from the virus is increasing rapidly in the country.

The country reported over 8,000 new cases and 123 deaths in the past 10 days alone. The spreading rate of the virus increased from 10% in the past to 13%.

Ethiopia has so far reported 165, 029 COVID-19 cases, with 137, 785 recoveries and 2,420 deaths.

Ethiopia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen briefed ambassadors and representatives of members of the United Nations Security Council in Addis Ababa on the current situation in Tigray.

Demeke said the Government has intensified its efforts to fully and effectively address the humanitarian needs in the Tigray region and enormous progress achieved since the law enforcement measure has come to a successful conclusion.

He indicated that unfettered humanitarian access, including to international media has been granted, issuance of clearance to the region for humanitarian actors has now been expedited by addressing bureaucratic hurdles and the process of carrying out joint investigation on human rights violations is underway.

Participants welcomed the measures that the Government has taken to address the humanitarian situation and human rights issues, and raised some concerns with regards to the challenges that some journalists and translators faced, coordination in terms of delivering humanitarian aid to some places, and the presence of foreign troops in the region.

In responding to the questions and concerns expressed by some members, Demeke pointed out that more than 3.5 million beneficiaries of the humanitarian assistance have now been reached through a cluster-based approach, with infrastructures that were destroyed by the TPLF forces are now being rebuilt and have resumed services.

Demeke also added that so far the Government has disbursed more than 40 billion birr which amounts to 70% of resources from its coffer to address the humanitarian needs in the region while only 30% came from the international community.

If the Government and international humanitarian organizations need to respond in a swifter and sustained manner, the international community should scale up its efforts of garnering adequate resources for the task at hand, he said.

Journalists are now granted access to report developments in the region and those who were detained in the past few days are released, said the Minister.

In clarifying the incidents, Demeke said that just as the Government is tirelessly working to address coordination problems and other few impediments, journalists and humanitarian workers also need to respect their professional code of conduct.

Demeke also said forging peace and partnership will always remain the emblem of Ethiopia’s foreign policy, governed by principles of international law, and further added that Ethiopia has never allowed any foreign country or troops to stay in its land, and is determined to keep it that way.

He also expressed the appreciation of the Ethiopian Government to all partners for their support and reassured them of Ethiopia’s commitment that the existing longstanding partnership that Ethiopia has always enjoyed with them will further be enhanced and strengthened.

በዋሽንግተን የኢትዮጵያ ኤምባሲ 125ኛው የአድዋ ድል በዓል መታሰቢያ በመጪው ቅዳሜ ማርች 6/2021 ከቀኑ 12:00 PM (EST) ጀምሮ ከፍተኛ የመንግስት ባለስልጣናት፣ አርቲስቶች፣ የኮሚኒቲ ተወካዮች፣ ጥሪ የተደረገላቸው እንግዶች እና መላው አሜሪካ የሚገኙ ኢትዮጵያውያን በተገኙበት ለማክበር ዝግጅቱን አጠናቋል።

የእለቱ የክብር እንግዶች
ክቡር አቶ ደመቀ መኮነን – የኢፌዲሪ ምክትል ጠቅላይ ሚኒስትርና የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትር
ክብርት ዶ/ር ሂሩት ካሳው – የኢፌዲሪ የባህልና ቱሪዝም ሚኒስትር
ክቡር አምባሳደር ፍጹም አረጋ – በአሜሪካ፣ ጃማይካ እና ፓናማ የኢፌዲሪ ባለሙሉ ስልጣን አምባሳደር

በእለቱ የአድዋ ድል እና የአሁኑ ትውልድ አገራዊ ሃላፊነት ዙሪያ በምሁራን ገለፃ ይደረጋል፣ ተውኔት፣ ግጥምና እና የተለያዩ የጥበብ ስራዎች ይቀርባሉ።

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