Ethiopia Announces Placement of New Ambassadors (March 26, 2020)

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced today the placement of 15 newly appointed ambassadors.

The following are lists of countries to which they are appointed:

1. Berhanu Tsegaye- Ambassador to Australia, Canberra

2. Yalem Tsegay- Ambassador to Cuba, Havana

3. Hirut Zemene- Ambassador to Belgium, Brussels

4. Markos Tekle- Ambassador to Egypt, Cairo

5. Bacha Gina – Ambassador to Morocco, Rabat

6. Yibeltal Aemero- Ambassador to Sudan, Khartoum

7. Mihretab Mulugeta – Ambassador to Eritrea, Asmara

8. Nebiat Getachew – Ambassador to Algeria, Algiers

9. Teferi Meles- Ambassador to UK, London

10. Adgo Amsaya- Deputy Chief of Mission in Sweden, Stockholm

11. Jemal Beker- Ethiopia’s Consul General in Bahrain, Manama

12. Abdu Yasin- Ethiopia’s Consul General in Saudi Arabia , Jeddah

13. Legese Geremew- Ethiopia’s Consul General in Canada, Ottawa

14. Mrs Eyerusalem Amdemariam- Ethiopia’s Consul General in Dubai, UAE

15. Shibru Mamo- Ethiopia’s Consul General in USA, Minnesota

It is to be recalled that the ambassadors were appointed by President Sahle-Work Zewde early this month.

PM Holds Phone Conversation with AfDB, IMF Chiefs (March 26, 2020)

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Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has held phone conversation with Akinwumi Adesina, President of AfDB and Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of IMF.

The Prime Minister said on Twitter that “both reiterated their understanding of the continent’s unique needs.”

The Prime Minister thanked AfDB and IMF chiefs for expressing their institutional solidarity “as we work to overcome the impact of COVID19.”

“Such global challenges require collective leadership. Africa also requires support and adequate cushioning to circumvent the impact of this shock,” he added.

Prime Minister recently proposed a $150 billion emergency health financing and budgetary support from the World Bank to cope the economic impact of COVID-19.

Information for COVID-19 National Resource Mobilization (March 26, 2020)

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For those that would like to donate cash to the National COVID19 Resource Mobilization initiative, here’s the full list of banks you can use.

IGAD Member States Agree To Coordinate Efforts to Curtail Spread of COVID-19 (March 25, 2020)

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Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has held phone conversations with IGAD Member States on ways to fight against coronavirus (COVID-19).

The discussions were held with leaders of Sudan, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya and South Sudan.

The Prime Minister tweeted: “we agreed to work in a coordinated manner to respond to emerging challenges. Our regional integration goals need not be hampered if we align and lead with collective interests.”

He added “IGAD member countries as a regional bloc can play a key leadership role to curtail the spread of COVID-19 and to effectively address the economic hurdles that this virus poses.”

Afreximbank Announces 3 Billion USD Credit Facility for Africa (March 25, 2020)

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African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) announced that it will provide a three-billion-US dollar credit facility to help African countries overcome the effects of the coronavirus (CO VID-19) pandemic.

The bank said in a statement released yesterday that the Pandemic Trade Impact Mitigation Facility will help support foreign exchange reserves and assist commodity exporters with declining revenues.

“Africa is exposed on many fronts, significant declines in tourism earnings, migrant remittances, commodity prices and disruption of manufacturing supply chains,” African Export Import Bank President Benedict Oromah was quoted as saying.

“A rapid and impactful financial response is required to avert a major crisis in Africa,” he added.

Ethiopia Orders Federal Employees to Work from Home to Mitigate Spread Of COVID-19 (March 24, 2020)

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The Council of Ministers has passed decisions the federal government employees to work from home effective March 25, 2020 until further notification.

The measure has been taken to mitigate the spread of Coronavirus COVID-19, said the Council in a statement after holding an extraordinary session this morning.

“Employees who will work from home will be selected based on criteria to be set by each Ministry and communicated with their workforce,” the Council said in a statement.

During this period, employees working from home are expected to be accessible for tasks that require their contribution, the statement added.

The Council also announced the establishment of sub-committee, in addition to the COVID-19 Ministerial Committee, to coordinate efforts to address the pandemic.

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed, stressed adherence to all measures drawn by the federal government on COVID-19.

Ethiopia Proposes $150b Africa Global COVID-19 Emergency Financing Package (March 24, 2020)

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Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has called for coordinated response to tackle the potential threat of coronavirus (COVID-19) to the economies of African countries.

He submitted a proposal for consideration during the upcoming Extraordinary G-20 Leaders’ Summit, scheduled to take place on Thursday to discuss ways to mitigate the impact of coronavirus on global economy.

“COVID-19 poses an existential threat to the economies of African countries. Our economies, fragile and vulnerable even in the best of times, will face serious shocks following this crisis,” said the Prime Minister.

A dramatic decline in exports, disruption of global chains, and the sudden drying up of travel and tourism are sure to wreak havoc to Africa’s economies, he said.

These challenges, according to the Prime Minister, cannot be adequately addressed by policies and measures taken individually by any one country or group of countries. They require a globally coordinated response.

To safeguard the commendable progress registered in Africa against reversal induced by the pandemic, Ethiopia proposed an Africa global COVID-19 emergency financing package of $150 billion from the World Bank.

It also called for support to the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen public health delivery and emergency preparedness in Africa.

It further proposed all interest payment to government loans and part of the debt of low-income countries to be written off.

Ethiopia Starts Distributing Jack Ma’s Donations of Medical Supplies to African Nations (March 24, 2020)

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Ethiopia has started distributing medical supplies to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19).

The medical supplies were donated by Jack Ma Foundation through the initiative of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed.

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo fleet carrying medical equipment, which included testing kits, masks, and medical use protective suits and face shields arrived in Khartoum, Sudan last night.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia to Sudan, Shiferaw Jarso, handed over the medical supplies to Sudanese Health Minister, Akram Ali Al-Tom.

The country also sent out this morning the second shipment of medical equipment  to South Africa, Burundi, Rwanda, Togo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan.

The Ethiopia Airlines will  distribute the medical supplies to other countries with subsequent freighter flights across Africa.

The Jack Ma, China’s richest man, and co-founder of the Alibaba online shopping platform, donated via his foundations, 20,000 test kits, 100,000 masks and 1,000 protective suits to each of the 54 African states.

An Ethiopian Airlines cargo flight from Guangzhou, China last Sunday arrived with 5.4 million face masks, 1.08 million testing kits, 40,000 sets of protective clothing and 60,000 protective face shields.

Ethiopia, Germany Sign €100m Grant Agreement (March 23, 2020)

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Ethiopia and Germany have signed a grant agreement amounting to €100 million today.

The agreement was signed by Admasu Nebebe, State Minister of Finance and Mrs. Brita Wagner, Ambassador of Germany to Ethiopia.

Due to the current global coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the signing was held via a virtual ceremony to ensure the WHO recommended social distancing.

The grant is to support the Ethiopia’s reform agenda for transition to a model of economic development strongly oriented on private sector development by improving the framework conditions for investments and for improved access to financial services for local and foreign private companies.

The funding will also be used for the second phase of the growth and competitiveness program and avail finance for the reform oriented expenditures through the budget support.

Ethiopia Closes Borders to Prevent Spread of COVID19 (March 23, 2020)

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Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has announced the closure of all Ethiopia’s borders to prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID19).

He said the National Defence Forces were ordered to halt as of today the movement of people along all borders, with the exception of incoming essential goods to the country.

The Prime Minister further said security sector will begin to reinforce measures taken by the government to cease large gatherings and maintain social distancing.

He also called on government institutions, including political parties, to adhere to social distancing and preventive measures when convening meetings.

The Prime Minister further urged government institutions to facilitate working from home options and public transport to cease overcrowding.

The government has also the allocated 5 billion birr to combat the spread of the virus, the Prime Minister indicated.

In a related development, the Ministry of Health said two Japanese nationals, who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Ethiopia, have left for their country.

The two Japanese are among the 11 confirmed cases in Ethiopia.