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

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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

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

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)

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.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen briefs Ambassadors and HRDG representatives on current situations in Tigray (January 04, 2021)

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Mr. Demeke Mekonnen discussed today (January 04) with Ambassadors and representatives of members of Human and Resilience Donor Group (HRDG) on the current humanitarian situation in Tigray.

Attending the meeting were also H.E. Mufarihat Kamil, Minister of Peace, H.E.Redwan Hussein, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mitiku Kassa Commissioner for National Disaster Risk Management, and Director for Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA).

Mr. Demeke appreciated member countries of the Group for their support and briefed the Ambassadors on the ongoing humanitarian activities in the Tigray region and the results achieved thus far.

The Deputy Prime Minister said food items, commodities, and medical supplies are being provided in the region to address the needs of the beneficiaries.

As agreed between the Government of Ethiopia and the UN Resident Coordinator, and using the existing coordination mechanism, the provision of humanitarian assistance is going as planned said the Deputy Prime Minister.

Recalling the colossal destruction caused on infrastructure by the TPLF junta, Mr. Demeke briefed the Ambassadors on the daunting task of reconstruction that is now underway with telecommunication lines being restored in almost all parts of the region and financial institutions resumed their operations.

The Deputy Prime Minister also said that relevant government institutions are working closely with donor communities and will continue to do so to effectively and timely address issues of refugees and those who need humanitarian assistance.

The interim administration is also working tirelessly in making sure that different levels of the administration of the region provide the necessary services including engaging the community to effectively respond to the development needs of the people in the region, said Mr. Demeke.

Ministers and other officials of the Ethiopian government present at the meeting also provided detailed information on the work that is underway to address the humanitarian situation in Tigray.

An understanding was reached to continue the engagement with the Group to work together to further scale-up humanitarian activities in the region.

The Ambassadors appreciated the government of Ethiopia for taking the initiative to brief them on current issues in detail.

PRESS RELEASE ON THE TRIPARTITE MEETING ON THE GERD PRESS RELEASE ON THE TRIPARTITE MEETING OF MINISTERS OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND MINISTERS OF WATER AFFAIRS ON THE GERD Addis Ababa (03 January 2021)

The virtual meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Ministers of Water Affairs of Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan is held on 03 January 2021. The meeting is convened by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa and Chairperson of the AU Executive Council.

The Ministers exchanged views on the continuation of the trilateral negotiation focusing on a draft document presented by the experts assigned by the Chairperson of the African Union. Ethiopia pronounced its positive outlook towards the draft document and expressed its willingness to use it as a single work document for the trilateral negotiation. Similarly, Sudan conveyed the importance of the document for the progress of the negotiation and its willingness to proceed with the negotiation with a defined role of the AU experts. Egypt categorically rejected the document.

Most of the issues on the first filling and annual operation of the GERD are agreed on. The main difference lies on the co-relations between the GERD Guidelines and Rules and the future water development projects on the Abbay Basin.

The GERD is a non-consumptive hydroelectric generating dam. Any agreement over the dam, which is being negotiated in the absence of a comprehensive water treaty and the prevalence of an unjust status-quo, shall be considerate of these fundamental factors. Ethiopia will not agree to a GERD deal that will in any way restrict its right to use the Nile waters.

On this basis, Ethiopia is committed to conclude the negotiation with good faith to reach an agreement. Accordingly, Ethiopia forwarded alternative approaches to Egypt and Sudan, which is hoped to garner their affirmative response.

In the coming week, the trilateral meetings will continue at expert’s level with oversight of ministers of water affairs, to take stock of agreed and outstanding issues to be presented to the six ministers meeting that is expected to be held on Sunday the 10th of January 2021.

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