Ethiopia has overtaken Dubai as a conduit for long-haul passengers to Africa, highlighting the
success of the state airline’s expansion drive and the reforms of its new prime minister.
Travel consultancy ForwardKeys said on Wednesday Addis Ababa airport had increased the number
of international transfer passengers to sub-Saharan Africa for five years in a row, and in 2018 had
surpassed Dubai, one of the world’s busiest airports, as the transfer hub for long-haul travel to the
region.
Analyzing data from travel booking systems that record 17 million flight bookings a day, ForwardKeys
found the number of long-haul transfers to sub-Saharan Africa via Addis Ababa jumped by 85 percent
from 2013 to 2017. Transfers via Dubai over the same period rose by 31 percent.
So far this year, Addis Ababa’s growth is 18 percent, versus 3 percent for Dubai.
Dubai has long been a major global air travel hub because it is the base of Gulf carrier Emirates. Given
the lack of an “open skies” deal smoothing flights across Africa, many passengers traveling between
one part of the continent and another, or from Asia or Europe to Africa, must often transit through
Dubai.
But this is changing.
Ethiopian Airlines [ETHA.UL], the country’s most successful state company, is accelerating a 15-year
strategy it launched in 2010 to win back market share on routes to and from Africa that are
dominated by Turkish Airlines and Emirates.
It is also weaving a patchwork of new African routes to rapidly expanding and lucrative Asian
markets.
ForwardKeys also attributed the recent jump in bookings via Addis Ababa in part to a positive
international response to the broad reforms introduced by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who
came to power in April and has upended politics in the Horn of Africa country of around 105 million
people.
It cited two changes in particular: a move to allow visitors to apply for visas online, and Abiy’s pledge
to open Ethiopia’s largely state-controlled economy to foreign investment.
After Abiy made peace with Eritrea to end a two-decade state of war, Ethiopian resumed flights to its
neighbor in July. This month, it relaunched flights to Somalia’s capital after four decades.
And the rise of travel via Addis Ababa looks set to continue. International bookings via Ethiopia are up
40 percent year-on-year for November to January 2019, ahead of all other destinations in Africa,
ForwardKeys said.

Addis Ababa, November 27, 2018 – Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed has begun consultations with
leaders of competing political parties today.
About 81 parties, including those that returned home, are in attendance of the meeting started
at the Prime Minister’s office.
The consultation will focus on highlighting the reforms required to ensure that the upcoming
election is free and fair as well as the shared responsibilities of all.
In his opening remark, the Premier said that today marks the official launch of discussion will
political parties.
He said today’s consultation will focus on how and when to conduct discussion with political
parties as well as how to resolve issues through dialogue.
The Premier noted the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) will use the ideas which will
be raised in today’s discussion as a bench mark to design its own program.
The Premier finally called on all political parties to work together for the country regardless of
their ideology and strategy differences.
Journalists from local and international media houses covered today’s discussion.

Bahr Dar City, the Capital of Amhara Regional State (Ethiopia) and the City of Madison, the
Capital City of the State of Wisconsin (USA) have become Sister Cities on November 20, 2018,
making Madison the second American city to become Bahir Dar’s sister city, next to the City of
Cleveland, Ohio. In total, Bahir Dar has now three sister cities, including Ashdod, Israel’s sixthlargest city.
The process of becoming sister cities for Bahir Dar and Madison started when a group of
Madison (Wisconsin, USA) residents submitted an application in August 2018 that would make
Bahir Dar, a sister city of the Wisconsin’s capital.
As both Bahir Dar and Madison serve as capitals for their respective state or region, the two
cities have large public universities and are located near major lakes, according to the
application.
While Bahir Dar City is known for its Lake Tana (3,200 km2), which was nominated as
UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2015 recognizing its national and international natural and
cultural importance, the City of Madison has more than 15,000 registered lakes including manmade lakes (of which 40% have official names). Lake Winnebago is the largest lake (557 km2)
and Petenwell Lake (93 km2) is the largest man-made lake for America’s north-central city,
Madison.

Xylem Inc., a leading global water technology provider, has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with Ethiopia’s Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE) for
future cooperation to help advance water security in Ethiopia.
The MoU was signed at an event in Ethiopia attended by Ethiopia’s Minister of Water, Irrigation
and Energy His Excellency Dr. Eng. Seleshi Bekele; State Minister Water Supply and Sanitation Dr.
Negash Wagesho; Xylem President and CEO Patrick Decker; and a representative of the U.S.
Embassy in Ethiopia.
H.E. Dr. Eng Seleshi Bekele noted that the present MoU signed between Xylem and MoWIE
creates an enabling platform to improve water supply and sanitation service delivery and ensure
scheme sustainability. He also stressed that the Ethiopian water supply and sanitation sector
benefit from the broad technical and technological solutions Xylem has been providing.
Xylem President and CEO Patrick Decker spoke about how honored the company is to have the
opportunity to begin exploring solutions for the region, notably non-revenue water, knowledge
sharing, and creating more water and energy efficiencies to maximize resources and lessen impact
on the environment.
“This exploratory partnership is a chance to strengthen our working relationship with the Ministry
and build on positive conversations around water systems optimization, energy, water and sewage
coverage, and to create a foundation that can help advance Ethiopia’s water sector in the future,”
said Mr. Decker.
“As a global leader in water technology, Xylem is committed to helping communities around the
world harness the power of technology to protect and optimize water and wastewater systems. We
are grateful for the opportunity to partner with the Ministry to identify potential ways to leverage
our broad portfolio of leading-edge technologies to help build water security in Ethiopia – and
address one of the greatest challenges of our time: solving water.”
About Xylem
Xylem (XYL) is a leading global water technology company committed to developing innovative
technology solutions to the world’s water challenges. The Company’s products and services move,
treat, analyze, monitor and return water to the environment in public utility, industrial, residential
and commercial building services settings. Xylem also provides a leading portfolio of smart
metering, network technologies and advanced infrastructure analytics solutions for water, electric
and gas utilities. The Company’s more than 16,500 employees bring broad applications expertise
with a strong focus on identifying comprehensive, sustainable solutions. Headquartered in Rye
Brook, New York with 2017 revenue of $4.7B, Xylem does business in more than 150 countries
through a number of market-leading product brands.
The name Xylem is derived from classical Greek and is the tissue that transports water in plants,
highlighting the engineering efficiency of our water-centric business by linking it with the best
water transportation of all – that which occurs in nature. For more information, visit
www.xylem.com.

Since Diplomatic relations between the United States and Ethiopia were established on December 27, 1903, Ethiopia has been appointing its Ambassadors to conduct and strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries. At present, the United States and Ethiopia have close diplomatic relationships as friends and partners. Their bilateral relations anchored on three interconnected pillars: economic growth and development; regional peace and security as well as democracy, governance and human rights. As part of the long standing tradition, H.E. Ambassador Kassa Tekeleberhane, the newly – appointed Ambassador of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United States of America presented his credential to President Donald Trump on 24 January 2017 at the White House. It is believed that the appointment of H.E. Ambassador Kassa Tekeleberhane would further elevate the strategic partnership of the two countries to the new level in the spirit of mutual respect and friendship.more

Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu made a press briefing on the 30th AU Summit today (January 23, 2018). Dr. Workneh said Ethiopia is set to host the 30th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) themed under “Winning the Fight Against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”. The Minister said the summit will take place at the A.U. Headquarters in Addis Ababa and is scheduled to continue till January 29, 2018. He also highlighted that four key agendas, including AU reform, financing African Union, trade between African countries and inclusive development are set to take central stage in the deliberations of the Leaders’ Summit. more

Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn traveled to Davos, Switzerland yesterday to participate in the 48th annual World Economic Forum. The Forum will be held on 23–26 January 2018. more

Ethiopian Orthodox Christians will celebrate Ketera, the eve of Timket (Ethiopian Epiphany) today. The celebration involves taking out the Tabots, which symbolizes the Ark of the Covenant, from the churches to sites where the next day’s celebration will take place. The Tabots, entirely covered in silk decorated clothing, are placed on the heads of priests, who parade the streets slowly. The priests, outfitted in ceremonial clothing, are escorted by the singing crowd as they make their way to the baptism location. Timket will be celebarted the next day, every January 19th (January 20 during leap year). The celebration is to commemorate Christ’s baptism. more