News

The Consulate General of Ethiopia in Los Angeles in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia hosted a virtual pre-investment meeting on Thursday (May 20).

This meeting aimed to encourage the American companies’ representatives, residing on the West Coast of the United States of America, to enable them to explore and invest in Ethiopia and to have a general overview of the investment opportunities and incentives and packages in energy, agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, and other priority areas of investment in Ethiopia available for potential business companies.

This pre-investment virtual meeting has been attended by senior officials and experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopian Investment Commission, and consuls from the Consulate General office.

The five business companies represented in the virtual event, by their senior executives are: Green Envirotech Holdings and USWTE (Energy Sector), Agricultural Orientation Business (Agriculture Sector), Sun Works (Technology/Solar Energy), Giddy Up Energy Products Inc. (Agro-Processing/ Manufacturing Sectors), Top Form (Agriculture/Agro-Processing Sectors) The Companies representatives were participated of the discussion and raised a lot of clarification questions that are well addressed by Officials from the Ministries in the attendance.

H.E Ambassador Mulugeta Kelil, Consul General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Los Angeles, in his opening remarks emphasized the importance of this kind of pre-investment meeting appreciates the valuable exchange views regarding investment opportunities and incentive packages and lead the investors to visit and do business in Ethiopia. Moreover, he mentioned that the Consulate General office is committed to facilitating the process of visiting and investing in Ethiopia. He concluded his remarks by encouraging all the company representatives who participated in the virtual meeting to visit and start doing business in Ethiopia.

In general, the representatives from the Ethiopian side shed light on the untapped investment opportunities and incentive packages of the above-mentioned sectors. In addition to this, the business company representatives on their part have expressed their interest to invest in Energy, Agriculture, Agro-processing, manufacturing, and other priority sectors of investment opportunities in Ethiopia.

Deputy Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen said the second-year filling of the GERD will be conducted as scheduled and agreed by the national scientific research group (NISRG) of the three countries.

The Deputy Prime Minister said this while he was delivering a keynote speech at a webinar meeting entitled, “The equitable use of the Nile: the role of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam for regional cooperation.”

Mr. Demeke further said Ethiopia has confidence in the role of the AU in facilitating the negotiations and bringing the process to a successful conclusion and reaffirmed Ethiopia’s conviction on the principle of finding African solutions to African problems.

Egypt and Sudan are attempting to exert unnecessary pressure on Ethiopia through different means including the internationalization and politicization of technical issues which will only undermine trust among the three countries, he added.

The webinar was organized by Ethiopian embassies accredited to neighboring countries and the great lakes region jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.

Present at the meeting and delivering remarks, Honourable Deng Dau Deng, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of South Sudan said the GERD is a peace project that will benefit all in the region.

With this understanding, he said the South Sudan parliament will soon ratify the Nile basin Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA), which outlines rights and obligations for the development of the Nile Basin water resources.

He expressed his hope that the tripartite negotiation will be concluded with a mutually beneficial agreement adding that the riparian countries should have been part of the consultation since the river basin is a shared resource.

Members of the GERD negotiating team, Eng. Gedion Asfaw, Mr. Zerihun Abebe, and Dr. Yohannes Gebretsadik, including Dr. Emmanuel Kasimbazie, professor of law at Makerere University have tabled presentations on the renaissance dam from technical and legal perspectives.

Ethiopian Ambassadors in Egypt, H.E. Markos Tekle (Ph.D.), and in Uganda, Ambassador Alemtsehay Meseret co-chaired the webinar which was organized by Ethiopian embassies accredited to neighboring countries and the great lakes region jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.

More than 142 participants have attended the webinar meeting.

H.E. Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, received at his office today (May 20), Mr. Hameed Nuru, the newly appointed Director for World Food Program (WFP) office and representative to AU and UNECA.

The Deputy Prime Minister congratulated WFP for winning the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 for its efforts to support people who are endangered due to man-made conflicts and natural disasters.

He also praised the role played by the World Food Program (WFP) in providing humanitarian assistance to affected people in Tigray by refraining from unnecessarily politicizing the matter.

Appreciating the ongoing support from government institutions in Ethiopia, Mr. Hameed Nuru said WFP will continue to work together with relevant bodies in fulfilling its responsibilities.

In his discussion, the Director also explained the organization’s collaborative experience with the Ministry of Education of Ethiopia in registering encouraging results in the home-grown school feeding program.

Mr.Demeke also talked about situations in addressing the needs of people in the first and second rounds of humanitarian support in Tigray and the plan to carry out the third one soon.

He finally called on the international community to provide the necessary support to adequately address the needs of affected people in the region.

The spokesperson of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, H.E. Ambassador Dina Mufti, gave the Ministry’s biweekly press briefing today (19 May 2021) to the media. In his presentation, the Ambassador focused on political diplomacy, the situation in Tigray, the upcoming general elections, economic diplomacy and citizen-centered diplomatic activities.

I. Political Diplomacy

• H.E. President Sahle-Work Zewde was in Uganda to attend the swearing-in ceremony of H.E. Yoweri Museveni. On related news, Prime Minister Dr.Abiy Ahmed attended the inaugural ceremony of the President of the Republic of Djibouti.
• H.E. President Sahle-Work Zewde participated in a conference organised by French President Emmanuel Macron to crowdfunding financial support to countries in Africa that are affected by the COVID 19 pandemic.
• Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister H.E. Demeke Mekonnen has participated yesterday in an open Dialogue Session that was organized by the Ministry of Peace in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event taking part under the title “Ethiopia in Transition – an open dialogue with the International Community” has brought together participants from the diplomatic community, development partners, experts, and other international bodies. At the occasion he said “as a country which has just embarked upon building a democratic system, we still have a lot to do and are determined to continue to work with all our partners, to ensure that our national reform agenda achieves the critical objectives of overcoming our development challenges and creating a prosperous nation, at peace within itself and its neighbors.”
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration National Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Public Participation Coordination Office made a two-day consultation with competing political parties and civic and religious institutions. Discussions were focused on the status of dam’s negotiations, the construction and the support expected from the public. Participants of the forum reaffirmed their commitment to stand together as the issue of the dam is a common agenda. In addition to the people’s political, intellectual and other support, more than 15 billion birr has been raised from Ethiopians at home and abroad. Participants reiterated that political parties and religious institutions will stand with the government to complete the remaining 20 percent of the construction of the dam.
• H.E. Ambassador Alemayehu Tegenu made a press briefing to a group of Mass Media Outlets. His briefing covered a wide range of issues pertaining to the situations in the northern region of Tigray, the state of negotiation on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the Ethio-Sudan border issue, the Up-coming 6th Ethiopian General Elections, and the bilateral relations between Ethiopia and the Russian Federation.
• H.E Yibeltal Aemero, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the Republic of Sudan held discussions with H.E. Dr. Gibril Ibrahim Mohamed, Minister of Finance and Economic Development of the Republic of Sudan on issues of common interest. Ambassador YibeltalAemero stressed that Ethiopia supports and follows positive developments in Sudan with keen interest and underscored the need to overcome current and temporary challenges through negotiation by taking into account the longstanding historic and fraternal relations between Ethiopia and Sudan. H.E Dr. Gibril Ibrahim on his part, mentioning the strong ties between the two countries, stated that any difference between them must be settled peacefully through direct negotiations. H.E the Minister also mentioned the need for avoiding unnecessary media statements. Moreover, the two sides underlined the need to focus and exert all efforts towards economic cooperation between Ethiopia and Sudan as well as bringing about regional integration.
• H.E. HirutZemene, Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to Belgium, Luxembourg and EU Institutions presented her letters of credence on Tuesday (May 11) to H.E. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission. At the occasion, the two sides exchanged views about the current situation in Ethiopia.
• H.E. Ambassador Shibru Mamo presented in Zoom his letter of credentials to Her.E. Dame Susan Dugan, the Governor General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. On the occasion, Ambassador Shibru and Ms. Dame Susan Dugan exchanged views on ways to further strengthen the longstanding bilateral relations between the two countries.
• The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to Kenya, H.E. Meles Alem called on the Secretary General of the East African Community (EAC), Honourable Dr. Peter Mutuku Mathuki to talk about the candidature of Dr. Arkebe Oqubay, for the seat of the Director General of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and call on the SG to solicit support from Member States for African Union endorsed and Africa’s sole candidate for the aforementioned position. He told the Ambassador that, the EAC will support the candidate, whose appointment proves to be a key asset in realizing the industrialization agenda of the UN.
• Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the State of Kuwait H.E. Ambassador Hasen Taju met with H.E. Mohammed Ali Moumin, Dean of Arab Ambassadors group and Ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti to Kuwait on May 18, 2021. Ambassador Hasen briefed his Djiboutian counterpart about the GERD and the Tigray region. Mohammed, on his part, said Ethiopia’s peace and stability is very vital to Djibouti and the whole region as well.
• The Ambassador-designate of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the Republic of Ghana, H. E. Hadera Abera Admasu, has presented a copy of his letter of appointment to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of the Republic of Ghana, the honourable Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey. The honourable minister expressed her profound thanks for the support provided by the Ethiopian government in the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as well on other important diplomatic backings on many international and regional issues that are very important to the Republic of Ghana, which she said is something one expects from an ally and strategic partner. She also personally thanked H.E Dr. Abey Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia for the mobilization and supply of Personal Protection Equipment during the early days of the Corona pandemics as well as the transportation service provided to repatriate Ghanaian nationals to their country.

II. Situations in Tigray

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia has issued a statement over the week opposing what seems a concerted campaign to exert undue pressure against Ethiopia and to make its position unequivocally clear on some of the most important and salient issues. The statement touched upon five points:

1. On the Humanitarian response in the Tigray region

The issue of access has already been adequately addressed, what people need now is concrete support.

2. On allegations of human rights abuses

The federal government showed its seriousness over the issue of human rights abuses. Recent investigations and pledges to engage more on the process by the Federal Attorney General, the Federal Police Commission, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights are manifestations of this commitment. Dwelling on the human right abuse allegations as if the government has done nothing in this regard serves no other purpose than unnecessarily politicizing the issue and exert undue pressure.

3. On calls for Ceasefire and national dialogue

The Ethiopian government has been consciously working to promote national dialogue build the necessary national consensus in the country to chart a better way forward. Various engagements with political parties, civic society and many other groups so far indicate the government’s commitment for peace. However, it should be clear that the push by partners to involve the TPLF, a terrorist group, in this national dialogue process is unacceptable.

4. On allegations of clampdown on dissent

The unwarranted and unsubstantiated allegations on the stifling of dissent and a crackdown on journalists that some media outlets propagate these days while the country gears up to hold national elections, has no other purpose than to tarnish the government’s image and undermine the electoral process. What needs to be made clear here is that the Ethiopian government has no desire to clamp down on dissent. Otherwise, it would not have invited most of the opposition groups and politicians as well as journalists, activists and others who were in exile to return to their country and operate freely. It knows full well that this approach has been tried and tested in the past but failed. The government does not believe that there are journalists or politicians jailed because of their political views and opinions. Those behind the bar are accused of violating the law. Therefore, they will have their day in court and the law will set them free if they are found not guilty. As far as foreign journalists are concerned, the government believes that it is not too much to ask them to strictly abide by the law of the land in carrying out their journalistic work.

5. On attempts to meddle in Ethiopia’s Internal affairs

There have also been repeated attempts to make unwarranted statements on Ethiopia’s internal affairs, particularly in relation to the Amhara regional forces. Ethiopia is a sovereign nation, and it cannot accept any dictates from outside on how to manage its own internal affairs.

III. Elections

• Reports of some media outlets giving the impression that the government has decided to postpone the election due to internal and external pressures are part of the media disinformation campaign
• Reports of some media outlets giving the impression that the government has decided to postpone the election indefinitely are also unfounded. Specific dates to run the elections will be disclosed by the NEBE.
• So far the International Republican Institute (IRI), an American nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, the National Democratic Institute (NDI), a non-partisan, non-profit organization, the African Union, the US and UK embassies in Ethiopia have agreed to deploy election observer missions

IV. Economic Diplomacy

• A steering committee established under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia to promote and market tourism in Ethiopia has held a meeting yesterday. H.E. State Minister Tsion Teklu chaired the meeting that discussed significant changes made in the sector after the establishment of the committee. The committee comprises 19 relevant organizations and 39 individuals.

• State Minister for Foreign Affairs, H.E. Tsion Teklu has held a discussion with Algeriain pharmaceutical company-ORBIOX-that came to Ethiopia to conduct a pre-investment study.

• Ethiopian Embassy in Brussels hosted an Ethiopian Coffee Cupping event in the presence of professional coffee connoisseurs. The cupping event was organized in cooperation with renowned coffee roasters and tasters. H.E. Ambassador HirutZemene, on her opening remarks, said it was aimed at promoting the different varieties of Ethiopian coffee to Belgian coffee roasters and creating contract-based market linkages between Ethiopian Exporters and Belgian market, which is one of the major destinations of Ethiopian Coffee, she said.

• Consul General of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Guangzhou Ambassador Ewnetu B. Debela met and conferred with Ms.Guo Ningning, Vice Governor of the People’s Government of Fujian Province. They shared ideas to encourage and support Fujian enterprises invest in Ethiopia, to strengthen trade exchanges, to jointly promote tourism resources and establish practical cities to cities friendly twinning.

• Ambassador of Ethiopia to Republic of Cuba, H.E. Shibru Mamo, met with Mrs. Elba Rosa Perez Montoya, Minister of Science, Technology, and Environment (CITMA) of Cuba. During their meeting, the two sides discussed ways to implement the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Ethiopia and Cuba on Science and Technology. They have also deliberated on various issues of cooperation in science and technology including biotechnology, meteorology, and astronomy.

V. Citizen-centered diplomacy

• Ethiopians and people of Ethiopian origin living in Washington DC made a rally calling on some international organizations and countries to stop unduly pressuring the Ethiopian government. Participants at the rally said Ethiopia has the right to maintain its territorial integrity, defend itself from aggressors, and dictations from third parties to do otherwise to a sovereign state should not be acceptable. Referring to the State Department’s recent statement on Ethiopia, they said it was influenced by unsubstantiated TPLF claims and sidelined the historical relationships between the two countries. They further said that the statement has undermined Ethiopia’s sovereignty and did not positively contribute to the peaceful coexistence of people in the country.

• Ethiopians and origins of Ethiopians living in Canada raised 50,000 Canadian Dollars while those in Germany raised more than one million birr to support the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

• 1200 citizens were repatriated from Saudi Arabia, Riyadh

An open dialogue with the international community in Ethiopia has kicked off this afternoon as part of the 3-day consultative forum organized by the Ministry of Peace in collaboration with other partners.

The event taking part under the title “Ethiopia in Transition – an open dialogue with the International Community” has brought together participants from the diplomatic community, development partners, experts, and other international bodies.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen said “as a country which has just embarked upon building a democratic system, we still have a lot to do and are determined to continue to work with all our partners, to ensure that our national reform agenda achieves the critical objectives of overcoming our development challenges and creating a prosperous nation, at peace within itself and its neighbors.”

In her opening remarks, Minister of Peace HE Muferihat Kamil said: “The government, of which I am a part, takes the issue of building sustainable peace, reconciliation, and national cohesion very seriously. Most importantly, what we have confirmed over the last three years is that majorities of the Ethiopian people want peace, and they have engaged in various peace initiatives across the country.”

Today’s open Dialogue Session was organized by the Ministry of Peace in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in collaboration with the Office of the National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation to the Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam made a two-day consultation with competing political parties and civic and religious institutions on issues related to the Grand Ethiopian renaissance dam.

Discussions, in particular, were focused on the status of the tripartite negotiations, the construction of the dam, and the support expected from the public.

H.E. Ambassador Dina Mufti, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Dr. Aregawi Berhe, Director-General of the Office of the National Council for the Coordination of Public Participation to the Construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam co-chaired the forum.

Given the current unwarranted pressure on the country, the chairs underscored that Ethiopians should stand in unison to make the construction of the dam a reality.

Member of the GERD negotiating team H.E. Ambassador Ibrahim Idris and Engineer Gideon Asfaw tabled presentations on the genesis of the tripartite negotiation and the current status of the construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam respectively.

Dr. Belete Berhanu, a staff member of the Ministry of Water, Irrigation, and Energy, explained to the audience why Ethiopia needs to build this dam and what benefits it will bring to its citizens.

Participants of the forum reaffirmed their commitment to stand together as the issue of the dam is a common agenda.

Participants further appreciated the commitment of the government to consult on the flagship project as a manifestation of its desire to work together on the national agenda.

It was indicated that in addition to the political, intellectual, and other critical support, more than 15 billion Birr has been raised from Ethiopians at home and abroad.

Participants finally pledged that they will stand with the government to complete the remaining 20 percent of the construction of the dam.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry reassured Egyptians that second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will not negatively impact them, as Egypt still has the Aswan High Dam reservoir to rely on.

“We have confidence that the second filling of the dam will not affect Egyptian interests,” the Foreign Minister said in an interview with TV host Nashat al-Dehi.

Shoukry said on Tuesday that Egypt can deal with the second filling of the Renaissance Dam through tight procedures in managing water resources.

“The international moves show the importance of the issue and allow the president of the African Union to be briefed on the Egyptian viewpoint, which is characterized by flexibility, moderation, and the desire to get out of the crisis by reaching an agreement.”

Regarding the US envoy to the Horn of Africa, the Foreign Minister said: “The American envoy has experience by virtue of holding many positions that qualify him to interact quickly with the issue of the Renaissance Dam.”

“Egypt is awaiting an invitation from the Presidency of the African Union to hold the Union’s office in the presence of the parties to make a decision that will lead to another opportunity to the negotiation process, through a new framework that involves more effective participation by international observers, which will contribute to converging views together to develop solutions towards reaching an agreement.”

Ethiopia stresses the importance of the GERD project to bolster its economy, where more than half of the population currently lives without access to electricity.

The Ethiopian Week Festival has kicked off in the capital at Friendship Sqaure in the presence of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other high officials.

High ranking govenment officials, leader of regional governments, members of the diplomatic community and invited guests are in attendace of the national feast of Ethiopian Week.

Welcoming the participants, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reiterated commitment to promote cultura and historical values of the country in line with fostering the tourism industry.

Led by the Prime Minister, participants of the celebration including the dignateries and diplomats of various countries have visited several heritages representing cultural values of the regionall states showcased at the event.

የኢ.ፌ.ዲ.ሪ የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስቴር ከታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ ግንባታ ህዝባዊ ተተሳትፎ አስተባባሪ ብሄራዊ ም/ቤት ጽ/ቤት ጋር በመተባበር ከፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች አመራሮች ጋር በታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ ዙሪያ ውይይት ተካሂዷል።

የታላቁ ህዳሴ ግድብ ግንባታ ህዝባዊ ተሳትፎ አስተባባሪ ብሄራዊ ም/ቤት ጽ/ቤት ዋና ዳይሬክተር ዶ/ር አረጋዊ በርሄ እንዲሁም የኢ.ፌ.ዲ.ሪ የውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስቴር የፐብሊክ ዲፕሎማሲና ቃል-አቀባይ ዳይሬክቶሬት ጄነራል አምባሳደር ዲና ሙፍቲ መድረኩን በአወያይነት መርተውታል።

በወቅቱም በታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ የሶስትዮሽ ድርድር የደረሰበት፣ የግድቡ የግንባታ አፈጻጸምን እንዲሁም የግቡን ህዝባዊ ተሳትፎ በተመለከተ ገለጻ ቀርቧል።

በውጭ ጉዳይ ሚኒስቴር የድንበርና ድንበር ተሻጋሪ ሀብቶች የሚኒስትሩ አማካሪ አምባሳደር ኢብራሂም እድሪስ ግብጽና ሱዳን የሚከተሉትን የውሃ ፖሊስ መነሻ በማድረግ በሰጡት ገለጻ አገራቱ በዓባይ ውሃ የበላይነትን ለመያዝ በተለያዩ ጊዚያት ያደረጉትን እንቅስቃሴ በተመለከተ ገለጻ ሰጥተዋል። አገራቱ ከዓለም አቀፍ ህግ አንጻር የሚያራምዱት ፍትሃዊ ያልሆነ አቋም እና በታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ ዙሪያ የተካሄዱ የሶስትዮሽ ድርድሮችን በተመለከተ ማብራሪያ ሰጥተዋል።

በታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ የሶስትዮሽ ድርድር የቴክኒክ ኮሚቴ ሰብሳቢ ኢንጅነር ጌዲዮን አስፋው በበኩላቸው ታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ ለአገራችን የኢነርጂ ፍላጎት ያለውን ጠቀሜታ በማንሳት ግድቡ አለም አቀፍ ደረጃውን በጠበቀ መልኩ እየተገነባ መሆኑንና የግድቡ ደህንነትን በተመለከተም ሶስቱም አገራት የተስማሙበት እንደሆነ አንስተዋል።

ለግድቡ የተደረገውን ህዝባዊ ተሳትፎ በተመለከተም ለግድቡ ግንባታ የሚደረገው ሁለንተናዊ ድጋፍ መቀጠሉንና እስካሁንም ከ15 ቢሊዮን ብር በላይ በአገር ከአገር ውስጥና ከውጭ ድጋፍ መሰባሰቡን አቶ ሄኖክ ገልጸዋል።

የታላቁ ህዳሴ ግድብ ግንባታ ህዝባዊ ተሳትፎ አስተባባሪ ብሄራዊ ም/ቤት ጽ/ቤት ዋና ዳይሬክተር ዶ/ር አረጋዊ በርሄ በበኩላቸው የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች በዚህ ታሪካዊ ምዕራፍ ወቅት በግድብ ዙሪያ በአንድነት በመቆም የራሳቸውን አስተዋጽ እንዲያበርክቱ ጥሪ አቅርበዋል።

ተሳታፊ የፖለቲካ ፓርቲዎች በበኩላቸው ለተመቻቸው የውይይት መድረክ ያላቸውን ምስጋና ገልጸው፣ ለታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ ግድብ ሁሉንም የሚመለከት የጋራ አጀንዳ መሆኑን አንስተዋል። የውስጥ አንድነት በማጠናከር የግድቡ ግንባታ እስኪጠናቀቅ ድረስ የሚደረገው የተለያየ ጫና ለመቋቋም ከመንግስት ጎን እንደሚቆሙና ግንባር ቀደም ሚና እንደሚጫወቱም ገልጸዋል። የፓርቲዎቹ አመራሮች ተመመሳሳይ መድረኮች መቀጠል እንዳለባቸው አሳስበዋል።

Ethiopians and people of Ethiopian origin living in Washington DC made a rally yesterday calling on some international organizations and countries to stop unduly pressuring the Ethiopian government.

Participants at the rally said Ethiopia has the right to maintain its territorial integrity, defend itself from aggressors, and dictations from third parties to do otherwise to a sovereign state should not be acceptable.

Referring to the State Department’s recent statement on Ethiopia, they said it was influenced by unsubstantiated TPLF claims and sidelined the historical relationships between the two countries.

They further said that the statement has undermined Ethiopia’s sovereignty and did not positively contribute to the peaceful coexistence of people in the country.

Regarding the GERD negotiations, they called on the United States and the international community to encourage Egypt to work for the common good of the tripartite.

They said they will put the necessary effort to ensure that their country and the government overcome current challenges and hold peaceful national elections.

They underscored that there should not be any negotiation with extremists and called on the people of Ethiopia to stand together to solve their problems through their own initiatives.

In the past three years, one of the key areas of institutional reform has focused on ensuring that the National Electoral Board operates independently and is equipped with capable leadership, free of political affiliations. This has been one of our key national successes.

In our follow up meeting with Regional leadership and NEBE Chair today, we deferred to the rational provided by the electoral board for short delay, despite our interest and readiness as a government to proceed with the originally scheduled dates.

The government remains committed to support NEBE in the coming short weeks to undertake the anticipated 6th national elections, which contrary to speculations have shown a great number of voter registration.

I would like to assure all Ethiopians that we will do our very best to hold a better, free and fair election than previous years, setting the foundation for future elections.

It is indeed regrettable to note these days that there appears to be a concerted campaign to exert undue pressure against Ethiopia. In spite of the relentless efforts by the Ethiopian government to engage positively and constructively on issues and concerns raised by partners, it is being given a cold shoulder. That is why the Ethiopian government is being forced to question the motives of some of the partners, particularly given the public statements and pronouncements they made recently. They seem to be short of showing a genuine desire to understand and help Ethiopia overcome its current challenges; rather, they would only be counterproductive and exacerbating situations. Those statements and pronouncements as well as the fake news and speculations propagated through the media speak volumes in this regard. It is in this relation that the Ethiopian government finds it absolutely necessary, once again, to make its position unequivocally clear on some of the most important and salient issues.

1. On the Humanitarian response in the Tigray region

The Ethiopian government has not only demonstrated its willingness and commitment to work with the international community to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Tigray, but it has also provided full and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to operate in all parts of the region. There were indeed difficulties in accessing some pocket areas because of security issues but that has now been addressed. That is why it is absurd for some partners to continue to lament lack of access in spite of the actual situation on the ground. The challenge at hand is quite to the contrary and it is related to issues of capacity and resource. This is well known by humanitarian actors operating in the region. Therefore, as the Ethiopian government has made it clear time and again, what actually makes a real difference is for partners to make a timely and effective response to the international appeal by availing more resources to the relief efforts and not repeatedly call for access ad nauseum.

2. On allegations of human rights abuses

On several occasions, the Ethiopian government has also made it clear how it takes any allegations of human rights abuses and crimes extremely seriously. That is why it acted swiftly to undertake the necessary investigation to verify those allegations and bring perpetrators to justice. It is in this context that a team composed of representatives from the Federal Attorney General and the Federal Police Commission had been deployed in the Tigray Region to carry out this investigative work. Last week, they have announced the outcome of their criminal investigations and the actions taken thus far to ensure the necessary accountability in this regard.

On the other hand, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission has been investigating and reporting on human rights issues, including the Mai Kadra massacre, civilian casualties, sexual violence, and allegations of discriminatory treatment. The outcome of these investigations will certainly enable the government to bring the perpetrators to justice and comprehensively address alleged human rights violations and crimes that have occurred in the Tigray region. The EHRC has already publicized some of its preliminary findings and recommendations from its independent investigations. In addition, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have agreed to conduct joint investigations. Upon the invitation of the Ethiopian government, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights undertakes its own investigative work. Hence, continuously lamenting about human rights abuses, while the Ethiopian government has shown its unreserved commitment to get to the bottom of the issue and apply the full force of the law in ensuring accountability and justice, serves no other purpose than unnecessarily politicizing the issue and exert undue pressure.

3. On calls for Ceasefire and national dialogue

The Ethiopian government has been consciously working to promote national dialogue build the necessary national consensus in the country to chart a better way forward. In this relation, it organized series of discussions to engage with wider sections of the Ethiopian society, including opposition political parties, the academic community, Civil Society Organizations, and various representatives of the society, including women and the youth with a view to promoting a culture of peace and reconciliation, and build civic political culture. The significance of these discussions as the country gears up to hold national elections cannot be over-emphasized.

In addition, the Ethiopian government has also shown its readiness to engage with legal opposition parties, members of the civil society, the private sector, elders, scholars, prominent personalities, and others in the Tigray region to promote dialogue. High-level engagement has already started based on a roadmap developed by the relevant Ethiopian authorities. However, it should be clear that the push by partners to involve the TPLF in this national dialogue process is unacceptable. TPLF is an outlawed group, which endangered the country’s sovereignty and its constitutional order. The Ethiopian parliament recently passed a decision labelling it as a Terrorist Organization. That is why the Ethiopian government utterly rejects the repeated call by partners to cease hostilities and negotiate with the TPLF.

4. On allegations of clampdown on dissent

The unwarranted and unsubstantiated allegations on the stifling of dissent and a crackdown on journalists that some media outlets propagate these days, while the country gears up to hold national elections, has no other purpose than to tarnish the government’s image and undermine the electoral process. Nothing can be further from the truth. This is indeed a government, which has rescued the country from the abyss and opened up the political space to safeguard greater peace, freedom, and democracy. Its reform credentials have also been well recognized not only domestically but also internationally.

This said, the Ethiopian government is the first to acknowledge that its reform efforts have not been without challenges. But it is determined to redouble these efforts with all the necessary vigor. That is why it is doing everything possible to make sure that the upcoming elections are conducted in a peaceful, transparent, and credible manner. The expectation is that this will usher in a new era of democratic dispensation to meet the hopes and aspirations of the Ethiopian people for lasting peace, freedom, and democracy.

One thing is for sure though building and nurturing a fully-fledged democracy and political culture is essentially a homegrown process, and it cannot be achieved through external pressure. The fundamental basis for the promotion of democracy is indeed the respect for constitutionality and the rule of law. And the primary responsibility of ensuring the necessary compliance in this regard certainly rests with the government.

What needs to be made clear here is that the Ethiopian government has no desire to clamp down on dissent. Otherwise, it would not have invited most of the opposition groups and politicians as well as journalists, activists and others who were in exile to return to their country and operate freely. It knows full well that this approach has been tried and tested in the past but failed.

The government does not believe that there are journalists or politicians jailed because of their political views and opinions. Those behind the bar are accused of violating the law. Therefore, they will have their day in court and the law will set them free if they are found not guilty. As far as foreign journalists are concerned, the government believes that it is not too much to ask them to strictly abide by the law of the land in carrying out their journalistic work. Those who do so have been operating without any difficulty. But it should be clear that the government is duty-bound to take the necessary legal action on those who are not willing and ready to comply with the law.

5. On attempts to meddle in Ethiopia’s Internal affairs

There have also been repeated attempts to make unwarranted statements on Ethiopia’s internal affairs, particularly in relation to the Amhara regional forces. Ethiopia is a sovereign nation, and it cannot accept any dictates from outside on how to manage its own internal affairs. The Ethiopian government wants to make it abundantly clear once again that deploying the necessary security structures and means available in ensuring the rule of law within all corners of its borders is within its sole responsibility. It is mandated by the Constitution to ensure peace and security against any threats to the Constitutional order of the country. It is in this context that the Federal government has been undertaking the rule of law operations in Tigray.

While it is the desire of the Ethiopian government to remain always ready and open to engage with partners on issues of mutual interest and concern, it will be forced to reassess its relations if these attempts to interfere in its internal affairs continue unabated. It is indeed unfortunate that some partners chose to dwell on internal matters of Ethiopia. One can’t be indifferent when Ethiopia is flagrantly invaded while purporting to have too much concern about and trying to unduly delve into its international matters; for doing so simply bears duplicity. That is why the Ethiopian government rejects those statements, which are not only inappropriate but also completely unacceptable.

Spokesperson Office

17 May 2021