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A virtual meeting aimed at forging a joint front and shared consensus on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) issue among all Ethiopian missions and citizens residing in the Nile River riparian states kicked off today.

Gedu Andargachew, minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, delivered opening remarks urging Ethiopians to continue contributing financial and technical supports to the construction of the dam.

The minister said since the Nile river basin holds two-thirds of Ethiopia’s water resources, utilizing it is a matter of sovereignty and an essential requirement for the development of the country.

Upon completion, the flagship project will enable millions of Ethiopians to get access to electricity, engage in newly created jobs and uplift themselves out of poverty, he said.

The building of the dam corrects historical imbalances and sets the relationship among the Nile River riparian states on the right track, said Gedu.

According to him, the building of the GERD initiated the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) by recognizing the right of all the Nile River riparian states, including Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, and South Sudan to utilize the water resource too.

Engineer Gedion Asfaw, Dr.Yakob Arsano, and Zerihun Abebe have also participated in the meeting, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ethiopian Diaspora have contributed over 42 million USD for the construction of the dam, according to Ethiopian Diaspora Agency. 

The above was disclosed by Ethiopian Diaspora Agency Director-General Selamawit Dawit at the opening of the day-long training for Ethiopians and foreigners of Ethiopian origin working in the media and advocacy today.

The 45 trainees are drawn from USA, Canada, the Middle East and China.

Opening the training, the director-general said the Ethiopian diaspora have also been contributing immensely to the development endeavor of the country.

She further explained that the diaspora have intensified support to the dam especially after the first filling of the dam and urged them to continue their support unwaveringly not only to the dam but also to various development activities in the country.   

According to Selamawit, the diaspora and the trainees should become increasingly vocal and influence international organizations, the media as well as private sector and NGOs.

She further stated that the agency is working to create platform for the diaspora to create awareness among the international community about Ethiopia’s right to finish the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and utilize the Nile River.

Currently, 75 percent of the construction of the mega hydropower project is completed.   

The tripartite negotiation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) between Ethiopia, Egypt, and Sudan has adjourned to a week upon the request of Sudan.

In a press release issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday, the three countries were expected to continue the negotiation on Monday and submit interim and final report to the Chairperson of the AU in two weeks’ time since the AU Bureau meeting held on 24 July 2020.

According to the press release, two weeks have lapsed without an actual negotiation due to Egypt and Sudan’s request to adjourn the meetings.

It is to be recalled that Ethiopia had sent its version of the Guidelines and Rules on the filling of the GERD, in line with the Communiqué of the African Union Assembly Bureau dated 24 July 2020 and the understanding reached by the Ministers of Water Affairs during their meeting on 03 August 2020 to work on a common document.

The meeting is expected to reconvene next Monday on 17 August 2020 as proposed by Sudan, it was indicated.

Press release underlined “Ethiopia remains committed to the tripartite negotiation as a negotiated agreement is the only option.”

በኢትዮጵያ የኮቪድ19 ስርጭትን ለመግታት በአሜሪካን ከሚገኙ ወገኖቻችን ድጋፉ ተጠናክሮ ቀጥሏል:: Oregon & SW WA የሚገኙ ወገኖች $20,365.86 የአሜሪካን ዶላር በማሰባሰብ ወደ ኤምባሲያችን የባንክ ሂሳብ አስገብተዋል።

ስራውን ላስተባበሩት ለሎስ አንጀለስ ቆንሱላ ጽ/ቤታችን፣ ለታስክ ፎርሱ ሰብሳቢ ለዶ/ር ወንድወሰን ተፈራ፣ ለአመራር አባላቱና ለመላው ለጋሾች እጅግ እናመሰግናለን:: ተባብረን እንዘልቃለን!

Special thanks & appreciation to Oregon & SW WA Task Force on COVID19 & the champions led by Dr. Wondwesen Tefera for the $20,356.86 sustaining contribution to fight #COVID19 in #Ethiopia. Together we can do so much!

Ethiopia has officially launched a month-long nationwide COVID-19 testing campaign in a ceremony held on Friday, August 7.

Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, chief administrators of regional states and stakeholders attended the ceremony.

The campaign sees testing 200,000 people for the virus in the coming two weeks and conducting a door-to-door survey covering 17 million citizens, it was noted.

Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed last Saturday said the month-long campaign will help to determine the next steps to undertake in the New Year.

He further indicated that increased testing is key to knowing the trend of COVID19 nationally so as to enable effective decision making on various fronts.

The total number of confirmed COVID19 cases in Ethiopia now stands at 20,900 with 365 deaths and more than 9,000 recoveries.