FM Demeke Holds Talks With His Austrian Counterpart Alexander Schallenberg (January 14, 2021)

/0 Comments/in /by

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Demeke Mekonnen has today discussed with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg at his office on a range of issues including recent developments in Ethiopia and the region.

At the meeting, Demeke said Ethiopia and Austria enjoy a long-standing bilateral relationship that is a century old and remains firm today with cooperation between the two countries growing strong on various fronts.

FM Demeke underscored the fact that ever since the new administration has assumed power, it has contributed enormously to the positive developments registered in the Sub-region to ensure sustainable peace and development.

The two foreign ministers exchanged views on the already completed law enforcement Operation in Tigray region, developments on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the current situation between Ethiopia and Sudan.

Demeke explained to the Austrian Foreign Minister that Ethiopia started the law enforcement operation in Tigray following the atrocity the TPLF Clique committed against the Northern Command of the National Defence Force.

He told FM Alexander Schallenberg that federal government has successfully completed the law enforcement operation, captured a number of culprits and delivering humanitarian assistances to the affected people and restoring infrastructure in the region.

Regarding the GERD, Demeke underlined that Ethiopia is working to resolve the dispute with Egypt and Sudan through diplomatic dialogue via the tripartite talk being held under auspices of the African Union (AU).

Demeke further briefed the Austiran counterpart that Ethiopia constructing the GERD in a bid to utilize its natural resource for poverty eradication purpose without causing any significant harm to downstream countries. Ethiopia is working hard to bring African solution to this African problem, Demeke stressed.

FM Demeke, regarding the current border issue with Sudan, underlined that the Sudanese army has encroached territories of Ethiopia some 40 kilometers to the interior part, vandalized properties of citizens and attacked civilians. But, Demeke said, Ethiopia is working to address the issue with diplomatic way.

Schallenberg, on his part, said that Ethiopia is an important strategic country that plays a key role in the region and, as one of the priority countries for the Austrian development cooperation programme, it remains committed to continue to support the development efforts of the Ethiopian Government to bring about sustainable growth and development in the country.

He also underlined the need to continue with the progress achieved to ensure that the humanitarian assistance reaches the people in need and expressed the readiness of Austria to work together with the Ethiopian Government to continue to provide the necessary assistance to scale-up the work of humanitarian assistance and confidence building.

The Austrian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Schallenberg also appreciated Ethiopia for giving maximum care to civilians in the region while taking the law enforcement measures.

FM Alexander Schallenberg further reaffirmed the commitment of Austria  to support the humanitarian activities Ethiopia is undertaking in Tigray. He also commended Ethiopia’s diplomatic approach to the issues with Sudan.

Austria is ready to share its best practices in utilizing its river for hydroelectric dam, FM Alexander Schallenberg who compared the case with that of the GERD.

Both Ministers have agreed to continue to work together to further strengthen the long-standing relations that exist between the two sisterly countries and to enhance collaboration in multilateral diplomacy.

The two further explored ways to further enhance cooperation between their two countries in the trade, tourism and other social and economic sectors.

Ethiopian, Finnish Presidents Discuss Latest Developments In Tigray (January 14, 2021)

/0 Comments/in /by

President Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia yesterday held a telephone discussion with President Sauli Niinistö of Finland.

The Presidents had an extensive conversation on the latest development and the humanitarian situation in the Tigary regional state.

They also exchanged view on the stability of the Horn of Africa as a whole.

The Presidents shared their concerns about global problems, particularly the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.

In addition, the Presidents noted the need to continue bilateral co-operation between Ethiopia and Finland.

Health Minister Dr. Lia To Lead COVID 19 Vaccine Procurement, Distribution Program (January 13, 2020)

/0 Comments/in /by

The Health Minister Dr. Lia Tadesse along with Canadian Minister of International Development Karina Gould and Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister and COVAX AMC Engagement Group co-chair, Retno Marsudi will lead the COVID-19 vaccine procurement and distribution program for 92 COVAX AMC member countries, antaranews reported today.

The COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) Engagement Group is a forum between the AMC member states and donor countries aimed at procuring and distributing vaccines for AMC member states.

Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister and COVAX AMC Engagement Group co-chair, Retno Marsudi said it is a huge responsibility for Indonesia to enable all countries to have equal access to the vaccine through multilateral networks. We will attempt to shoulder the huge responsibility as aptly as possible.

Although COVAX will find it challenging to meet the target of procuring vaccine in the wake of limited resources and preparations of all countries to accept the COVID-19 vaccine, Marsudi expressed belief that close cooperation among all nations would help to achieve the target.

በማሳቹሴትስ፣ ሜይን፣ ኒው ሜክሲኮ፣ ፍሎሪዳ፣ ዴላዌር፣ ከነቲከት እና ኒው ሐምፕሻዬር ለምትኖሩ ወገኖቻችን በሙሉ የቀረበ ታላቅ ጥሪ (January 12, 2021)

/0 Comments/in /by

በማሳቹሴትስ፣ ሜይን፣ ኒው ሜክሲኮ፣ ፍሎሪዳ፣ ዴላዌር፣ ከነቲከት እና ኒው ሐምፕሻዬር ለምትኖሩ ወገኖቻችን በሙሉ የቀረበ ታላቅ ጥሪ (January 12, 2021)

እኤአ ጃንዎሪ 17 ቀን 2021 ከቀኑ 3፡00 PM (ET) ክቡር አምባሳደር ፍጹም አረጋ በተገኙበት “አሻራዬን አኖራለሁ“ በሚል መሪ ቃል የታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ ድጋፍ ማሰባሰብ ማስጀመሪያ ታላቅ የዙም ውይይት እንድትሳፉ በአክብሮት ጥሪያችንን እናቀርባለን!

Mihret Medical Supply Donates Medicines, PPE Worth $290,000 To Ethiopia (January 11, 2021)

/0 Comments/in /by

The US-based Mihret Medical Supply Group (MMSG) has donated medicines and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) worth $290,000 to Ethiopia.

Ambassador of Ethiopia to the United States, Fitsum Arega, tweeted that the donation “is for patients & health workers in Ethiopia.”

Ambassador Fitsum thanked MMSG for the donations and the transportation of the equipment.

Ethiopia has reported 128, 316 COVID-19 cases, with 1,994 deaths so far.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen confers with Ethiopian Public Diplomacy team Cluster leaders (January 9, 2021)

/0 Comments/in /by

H.E. Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia has met and discussed with cluster leaders of Ethiopia’s Public Diplomacy team today (January 09) at his office.

The meeting aimed at deliberating ways to better use the public diplomatic team in promoting and protecting the sovereignty of the country.

The Deputy Prime Minister spoke at length during the occasion regarding principal issues in the country.

Deliberations have also been made following presentations of detailed plans by the cluster leaders regarding tasks that need to be carried out by the public diplomacy team.

The meeting ended with the Deputy Prime Minister’s appreciation to the proposals submitted by the team and reiteration on the Ministry’s commitment to support and jointly work with the public diplomacy team.

The Ethiopian Public Diplomacy team was established a decade ago where it has shown its crucial role in facilitating smooth people-to-people relationships between Ethiopia and its neighbors, notably people of the Nile Basin countries.

FM Demeke Holds Talks with Top EU Official on Latest Development in Tigray (January 9, 2021)

/0 Comments/in /by

Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia and Joseph Borrell, High Representative for the Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of European Union conferred yesterday over the phone and exchanged views on the current humanitarian situation in Tigray regional state.

Demeke briefed the High Representative on the reconstruction and rehabilitation activities in the region which is being implemented under a cluster-based coordination mechanism.

The Government and humanitarian organizations are working in close coordination to effectively address the humanitarian needs in the region, he said.

Both the Deputy Prime Minister and the High Representative have agreed to continue to work closely to scale-up the efforts in the provision of humanitarian assistance in the region and strengthen the closer collaboration between Ethiopian and the European Union.

እንኳን ለኢየሱስ ክርስቶስ የልደት በዓል አደረሳችሁ! (January 6, 2021)

/0 Comments/in /by

የዘንድሮውን የልደት በዓል የምናከብረው በዚህ ዓመት ያሳለፍነውን ፈታኝ ተጋድሎና ከፊታችን የሚጠብቀንን ወሳኝ ዕድል እያሰብን ነው። አሁን በፈተናና በዕድል መካከል እንገኛለን። ዓለምም የመጀመሪያውን የክርስቶስ ልደት ያከበረችው በፈተናና በዕድል መካከል ሆና ነበር። በአዳም በደል ምክንያት የመጣው የመከራ ዘመን እያለፈ፤ የመከራው ዋና ምንጭ የሆነው ዲያብሎስ፣ በማኅጸን በተጀመረ የማዳን ሥራ እየተሸነፈ፤ የጨለማው ንጉሥ እየተረታ፤ የዘመናት ቋጠሮ እየተፈታ ነበር። ከፊት ደግሞ የመዳን፣ የብርሃን፣ የሰላም፣ የነጻነት እና የፍቅር ዘመን እየመጣ ነበር።

ነገሩ ግን ሂደቱ ቀላል አይደለም። የጨለማው ዘመን አበጋዞች እንዲነጋ አልፈለጉም። ሊመጣ ያለው ድኅነት የማያስቀሩት ቢሆንም እንኳን፤ የሚያሸንፉት እስኪመስሉ ድረስ ተፍጨርጭረዋል። እየበራ ያለውን መብራት የሚያጠፉት ያህል ታግለዋል። የተከፈተውን የብሩኅ ተስፋ መስኮት የሚከረችሙት ያህል ፎክረዋል። የተሸነፈውን ዘንዶ ዳግም ሕይወት የሚዘሩለት ያህል ተገዳድረዋል። ግን ይህ ሁሉ አልሆነም።

ሄሮድስ ተነሥቶ ነበር። ብዙዎችንም በአሰቃቂ ሁኔታ ገድሏል። ዘመኑም የብሩኅ ተስፋ ሳይሆን የመከራ ዘመን መስሎ ነበር። በክርስቶስ መወለድ የተፈጠረው ደስታ፣ በቤተልሔም ሕጻናት ግድያ የደበዘዘ እስኪመስል። በበረት ውስጥ የተፈጠረው ተስፋ፣ በድንግል ማርያምና በክርስቶስ መሰደድ ያበቃለት እስኪመስል። በመላእክት ዝማሬ የተበሠረው አዲስ ዘመን፣ በሄሮድስ አበጋዞች ጭፍጨፋ ሕልምና ተረት እስኪመስል። የኦሪት ዘመን አበቃ ሲባል፤ በኦሪት ዘመን የማይሠራ ግፍ፣ በዘመነ ሐዲስ በቤተልሔም ከተማ ተከሠቷል። ብዙዎችንም ተስፋ አስቆርጧል።

ቢሆንም መከራው አላፊና ጠፊ እንጂ ዘላቂ አልነበረም። ያ እንደ ተራራ የገዘፈ የመሰለው ሽብር እንደ እንቧይ ካብ የሚፈርስ፤ እንደ ባሕር የሰፋ የመሰለው መከራ እንደ መጋቢት ወንዝ የሚነጥፍ፤ የማይሸነፉ የሚመስሉት ሁሉ እንደ ጎልያድ የሚወድቁ፤ አስጨናቂዎች ሁሉ መልሰው የሚጨነቁ መሆናቸውን – ያሳየ አጋጣሚ በዚያን ዘመን ተከሥቷል። ለዚያም ነው ሁሉም አልፎ ዛሬ ድረስ የልደትን በዓል ልዩ ትርጉም ሰጥተን የምናከብረው።

ውድ የሀገሬ ሕዝቦች፣

አሁን ኢትዮጵያ በልደቱ ቀን ቆማ ልደትን የምታከብር ሀገር ናት። ተስፋዋን፣ ሰላሟን፣ ንጋትና ብልጽግናዋን እንዳታይ በዙሪያዋ የቆሙ የሄሮድስ አበጋዞች አሉ። በቻሉት መጠን መከራችን እንዲቀጥል ይፈልጋሉ። የተወለደልንን የተስፋ ብርሃን ለመግደል ይጥራሉ። ከተማዋን የዋይታ ከተማ ለማድረግ ይለፋሉ። ነገን እንዳናይ መስኮቶችን ሁሉ ይዘጋሉ። ወደ ተስፋ መጠጊያ ዋሻችንን በቋጥኝ ደፍነው በቀቢጸ ተስፋ ውስጥ እንድንቆይ የተቻላቸውን ሁሉ ያደርጋሉ።

ሆኖም ግን ፈተናችንን ያበዙብን ሄሮድሶች ከብልጽግና መንገዳችን አያስቀሩንም፤ እስከ መጨረሻው ሕቅታቸው ወደ ኋላ ሊጎትቱን ቢጥሩም ጨርሶ ከጉዟችን ሊያስቆሙን አይችሉም። በመንገዱ ላይ የዘሩትን አሜከላ እየለቀምን፣ እንቅፋትና ጋሬጣውን ተሻግረን ከተራራው እናት መውጣታችን አይቀርም። የተሰበረውን ድልድይ ጠግነን፣ ከችግሮቻችን በላይ ከፍ ብለን ያለጥርጥር ኢትዮጵያን ወደ ተስፋዋ አድማስ እናደርሳታለን።

ገና ያኔ የለውጥ ጉዟችን ሲወለድ ጀምሮ ተመሳሳዩን ሲያደርጉ ነበር። በየወቅትና አጋጣሚው ጉዟችን እንዲሰናከል ያልወረወሩት ድንጋይና ያልጣሉት ጋሬጣ አልነበረም። ከመንገዳችን ሳንሰናከል ገፍተናል፤ በፈተናዎቻችን ትምህርት፣ በችግሮቻችን ጥንካሬ፣ በእንቅፋቶቻችን ብርታት እያገኘን ዛሬ ላይ ደርሰናል። ከእያንዳንዱ ጨለማ ወዲያ ንጋት መኖሩን እያመንን፣ ዐይናችንን ወደ ወጋጋኑ አቅንተን ጉዟችንን ቀጥለናል። እኛ አንድ ወደ ፊት በተራመድን ቁጥር ችግሮቻችን ወደኋላ ይሸሻሉ፤ እኛ ይበልጥ በበረታን ቁጥር እነሱ ይሸነፋሉ።

ያም ሆኖ አንድ ልብ ሊባል የሚገባው እውነት አለ። ለኢትዮጵያ የፈነጠቀውን የተስፋ ብርሃን ከእንግዲህ ማንም ሊያጠፋው አይቻለውም ሲባል እስከናካቴው አይሞክርም ማለት አይደለም። የሄሮድስ ወታደሮች ሕጻኑን ክርስቶስ እስከ ግብጽ ድንበር ድረስ እንደተከታተሉት ሁሉ ፈታኞቻችን ነገም ይከተሉናል።

እንቅፋቶቻችን መልካቸውን እየቀያየሩ በመንገዳችን ላይ መቆማቸውን ይቀጥላሉ። ከእንግዲህ የኢትዮጵያ የትንሣኤ ጉዞ ፍጥነቱ ከምንም በላይ የሚወሰነው በእኛ ጥንካሬ እንጂ በእነሱ ችግር ፈጣሪነት መጠን አይደለም፤ መሆንም የለበትም።

እኛ እስካልፈቀድንላቸው ድረስ ለሀገራችን የተወለደውን ተስፋ ሊያመክኑት፣ የተለኮሰውን ፋና ሊያጠፉት አይችሉም። ጨልሞባት የነበረችው ሀገራችን ምሽቷ መንጋት ጀምሯል – እኛ ከበረታን ዳግም በእነሱ ሤራ አይጨልምም። ያጎበጣት የዘመናት ፍዳ አንዴ መደርመስ ጀምሯል – እኛ ችላ እስካላልን ድረስ ዳግም አይቆለልም። ከእንግዲህ የኢትዮጵያ ስኬትና ውድቀት ማዕከሉ የእኛ ጥንካሬና ድክመት ነው ብለን ማመን አለብን።

ውድ ወገኖቼ፣

ከተስፋችን አንጻር ፈተናችን ብዙ ባይሆንም ወደፊት ይበልጥ መፈተናችን እንደማይቀር ማወቅ አለብን። ወደ ተስፋ በተጠጋን ቁጥር የመከራው ብርታት እንደሚጨምር ያለፉት ሦስት ዓመታት ጥሩ ማሳያዎች ናቸው። በመከራ ውስጥ ከሚመጣ መከራ ይልቅ በተስፋ ውስጥ የሚመጣ መከራ እጅግ ይከብዳል የሚባለውም ለዚህ ነው። በአንድ በኩል ልቡና ተስፋ እያደረገ ፈተና ሲገጥመው ያማርራል። በመከራ ውስጥ ሆኖ መከራ ሲገጥመው ግን ‹የበሰበሰ ዝናም አይፈራም› እንደሚባለው በአማራጭ ማጣት ይታገሣል። በተስፋ ውስጥ ፈተና የሚያጋጥመው ሰው ግን እምነት ያጣል። አእምሮው ለሐሴት እንጂ ለሑከት አልተዘጋጀም። ከትግል ጊዜ ይልቅ በድል ጊዜ ብዙዎች ይሞታሉ የሚባለው ለዚህ ነው። በትግል ጊዜ የነበራቸው የመሥዋዕትነት ሥነ ልቡና በድል ጊዜ አይገኝም።

ኢትዮጵያ ሁለቱም ያጋጥማት ይሆናል። ተስፋ ባነገበች ሀገር ላይ ተስፋ መቁረጥ፤ ሰላም ባነገበች ሀገር ላይ ግጭት፤ ብልጽግናን ባነገበች ሀገር ላይ ውድመት ይመጣባት ይሆናል። መነሻችን ‹አያዎ› ነው – ‹አይ እና አዎ›። መድረሻችን ግን ‹አዎ› ብቻ ነው። ብርሃን ጨለማን፤ ሰላም ጦርነትን፣ ፍቅር ጥላቻን፤ አንድነት መለያየትን፣ ብልጽግና ኋላቀርነትን ማሸነፋቸው አይቀሬ ነው። በልቅሶ የሚዘሩ በደስታ ማጨዳቸው የማይቀር ነው።

ከወፍ ዕንቁላል ውስጥ ጠንካራው ቅርፊቱ ነው። ጫጩቷ ቅርፊቱን ሰብራው ከወጣች በኋላ ግን ጠንካራ መሆኑ ያበቃል። ጫጩቷ ታድጋለች፤ ቅርፊቱ ግን በተቃራኒው መፈራረስ ይጀምራል። ጫጩቷ ትበራለች፤ ቅርፊቱ ዱቄት ይሆናል፤ ብሎም ይበሰብሳል። ጫጩቷ ወፍ ሆና ሌሎች ዕንቁላሎች ትጥላለች፤ ሌሎች ጫጩቶችንም ትፈለፍላለች። ቅርፊቱ ግን ይበልጥ እየበሰበሰ ወደ አፈርነት ይለወጣል። የኢትዮጵያም ችግሮች እንደዚሁ ናቸው። ለጊዜው ጠንካራና ዙሪያችንን ከብበው የያዙን ይመስላሉ። ይህ የሚሆነው ግን እስክንሰብራቸው ድረስ ብቻ ነው። ከዚያ በኋላ እኛ ከችግሮቻችን መብለጣችን አይቀሬ ነው።

ከክርስቶስ ልደት የምንማረው ይሄንን ነው። የትናንቱ ሲያልፍ ዝም ብሎ አያልፍም። የመጨረሻ ሙከራውን አድርጎ ነው የሚያልፈው። ልክ እንደሄሮድስ ሙከራ። የነገውም ዝም ብሎ አይመጣም፤ በተጋድሎ ነው የሚመጣው። ልደት ግን በሚያልፍ መከራና በሚመጣ ዕድል መካከል መሆኑ አይቀሬ ነው። ኢትዮጵያም እያለፈችው በምትሄደው መከራና፣ እያገኘችው በምትመጣው ዕድል መካከል ናት።

‹ዛሬ› በትናንትና በነገ መካከል ስለሆነ የሁለቱም መልክ ይታይበታል። ከትናንት የወረሰው መከራ፤ ከነገ የተዋሰው ደስታ አለው። ንጋት ማለት በሚያልፍ ጨለማና በሚመጣ ቀን መካከል ነው። መሽቷል ያለ ይተኛል፤ ነግቷል ያለ ይነሣል። የእኛም ምርጫ ይሄው ነው። መሽቷል ብለን እንተኛለን ወይስ ነግቷል ብለን እንነሣለን?

መልካም የልደት በዓል ይሁንልን።

ኢትዮጵያ በልጆቿ ጥረት ታፍራና ተከብራ ለዘላለም ትሩር!!

ፈጣሪ ኢትዮጵያና ሕዝቦቿን ይባርክ!

ታኅሣሥ 28፣ 2013 ዓ.ም

No photo description available.
Image may contain: text

Joint Forum established to tackle FDI challenges in Ethiopia holds its regular meeting today (January 5, 2021)

/0 Comments/in /by

H.E. Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia and H.E. Ambassador Girma Biru, macroeconomic advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, chaired today (January 05) the regular meeting of the joint forum that was established to tackle challenges of attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Ethiopia.

The meeting deliberated the types of problems investors are facing in the country today and measures taken to alleviate the observed hurdles.

At the occasion, H.E. Lelise Neme, Commissioner of Ethiopian Investment Commission, has tabled a paper reflecting on monitoring mechanisms of the post-investment performance of the foreign investors in the country.

The Commissioner also spoke in detail on the performance and suitability of Ethiopia’s business environment in maintaining and expanding the ongoing investments as well as creating business linkages for foreign investors

Mrs. Lelise’s presentation showed that lack of coordination among institutions, bureaucratic bottlenecks, poor understanding of investment guidelines by investors coupled with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are observed as bottlenecks for a smooth flow of FDI in the country.

The meeting underscored the importance of working in concert among institutions and charted out the way forward with tasks that stakeholders should carry out.

Ministers and high-level officials as well as representatives of relevant stakeholders attended the meeting.

GERD Meeting to Resume on Sunday (January 5, 2021)

/0 Comments/in /by

The trilateral meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will resume on Sunday January 10, 2021 when experts from the three countries are expected to present identified common positions and differences, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The negotiations on GERD which resumed this week are chaired by South Africa International Cooperation Minister.

Briefing the media today, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Dina Mufti said ministers of water, and foreign affairs were part of the delegations who discussed the way forward based on the modalities presented by the experts.  

“Though the modalities were accepted with conditions by our side and the Sudanese side with certain recommendations. But the Egyptian side has entirely rejected the modalities,” the spokesperson revealed.

Finally, the ministers decided that the experts of the respective three countries continue identifying and sorting out differences and common positions that have been registered so far and to come up with the outcomes, he elaborated.

According to the spokesperson, the experts will present common positions by the three parties and the differences to the meeting which will take place on Sunday.

Asked about the Ethio-Sudan border situation, Dina confirmed that Ethiopia has still a firm position that the situation will be resolved in a peaceful manner through dialogue and diplomatic means.

He noted that “Ethiopia always considers the big picture of the two countries’ relation. That is why its doors are still open for dialogue and negotiations to settle the situation in a sustainable manner.”