Day: June 21, 2023

The Government of Ethiopia is doing everything it can to ensure the safety of our nationals in Sudan, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Birtukan Ayano said.

The national task force established recently to assist with the safe and smooth repatriation of Ethiopian nationals from conflict affected areas in Sudan, reviewed its activities over the past two months earlier today.

The task force deliberated on the results achieved so far and challenges it encountered, that need intervention in due course, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In her opening remarks, the state minister noted, “The Government is doing everything it can to ensure the safety of our nationals in Sudan.”

She added it is indisputably important to protect the safety of our citizens in Sudan as part of our active citizen diplomacy imperative.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The Ethiopian and Chinese foreign affairs institutes have signed today a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that enables them to work together in areas of publication and documentation, among others.

The memorandum was signed between the Executive Director of the Institute of Foreign Affairs (IFA) under Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dessalegn Ambaw, and Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs( CPIFA) Vice President Li Jie.

The areas of the agreement include promoting and reinforcing the cooperation between the two institutions and exchanging publications and documentations.

The MoU is the beginning of additional chapter in the bilateral relations of the two countries, it was learned.

The partnership between the two research institutions will also help to identify the challenges the countries face and serve as a forum to forward possible solutions to create a better world.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Ethiopia has an ongoing very successful and ambitious sustainable land management program, World Bank (WB) Senior Natural Resources Management Specialist Ross Hughes told ENA.

According to the Senior Natural Resources Management Specialist, the program is one of the largest World Bank programs on the environment and natural resources side.

“Ethiopia has an enormous and very successful and very ambitious sustainable land management program ongoing, particularly in the highlands, tackling land degradation, re-greening hillsides, re-greening watersheds, and working with people,” he said.

Hughes explained that this aligns well with what the World Bank is really keen to finance to help people to manage their resources better, and in so doing help build resilience to climate change, reduce emissions, build soil fertility, and improve production.

“We have a very large program. Currently, something like 850 to 900 million US dollars worth of ongoing investments is underway in the region and we work with the government here.”

The specialist appreciated the commitment of the Ethiopian government in putting a very high priority on re-greening.

“As everybody knows, the government here has the very well-known Green Legacy Initiative, which I understand is also going kind of regional now to other countries in the region. Through sustainable land management we support this initiative,” Hughes stated.

Basically, the government has taken a holistic integrated approach working at the watershed level. But that includes, establishing nurseries with very large amounts of reduction of tree seedlings, and supporting the plantation of those seedlings into the watersheds that they support, he elaborated.

“It’s a very large program. All of this is underpinned by support to help improve land tenure security.”

If we can put the investments to get things moving, get the re-greening working and then people take care of the watersheds directly through their own investments, it is a good ingredient and a good approach for sustainability, he stated.

This “is very important. Trees are obviously a very important ingredient for the landscapes; they help to create the conditions for rainfall, protect soils, and bring soil fertility.”

More trees and vegetation are important, Hughes noted, adding that putting trees in the ground is not however enough.

“What is needed is longer term strategies for ensuring that those trees are owned by people,” he stressed.

For him, the investments that the Ministry of Agriculture is doing with support from the World Bank and other development partners are very supportive of those Green Legacy Initiative.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Airlines in Africa should implement the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) in order to facilitate the realization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) initiative, Ethiopian CEO Mesfin Tasew said.

The CEO told ENA that “what is expected from (African) airlines is to support the initiative by being ready to carry people from country to country, transport goods from country to country, and facilitate the realization of the African Continental Free Trade Area.”

As the role of the airlines is to make the initiative happen, it is much anticipated to be done by the countries that have to sign protocols on how to do trade since it is basically a trade agreement among African countries, he added.

The CEO stated that African airlines are expected to support this initiative since the continental free trade area hugely requires effective and reliable transportation service for movement of people and goods.

According to him, SAATM enables the airlines to fly freely everywhere in the continent to make the AfCFTA initiative practical.

“Today, one of the problems of African airlines is traffic restriction. If I want to fly from Addis to some destination in Africa, I have to get special permission from that country which will be based on what we call bilateral air service agreement.”

However, SAATM liberalizes the airspace that would allow airlines to freely fly from point to point with minimum impediment, the CEO said.

The liberalization will also facilitate the full realization of the AfCFTA, he noted.

Chief Executive Officer of Airlines Association of Southern Africa (AASA), Aaron Munetsi said on his part that the most important elements of the African Union Agenda 2063 are their flagship projects the Single African Air Transport Market and African Continental Free Trade Area.

He believes that the two initiatives would enable Africans to start doing even more things in terms of providing airlift not only for passengers, but for goods and services to be able to move around the African continent.

“These two flagship projects are actually very complementary and they are very supportive of our strategies and objectives as African airlines,” he elaborated.

The CEO appreciated the Ethiopian Airlines for being a shining example in its achievement on the implementation of the Single African Air Transport Market.

Ethiopian Airlines is the only airline that flies to more destinations on the African continent, bringing Africans to Bole International Airport and then connecting onto their massive network. “That is exactly what we are looking for,” Munetsi noted.

Moreover, he stated that “as African airlines, we want to emulate the very good and impressive progress that Ethiopian Airlines has made. We also want to implement the same discipline that Ethiopian Airlines has been able to do to demonstrate to the world that African airlines can actually be owned by a government, but also be very productive and very profitable.”

Munetsi pointed out that Ethiopian Airlines has been able to demonstrate the three Cs of African airlines, which are collaboration, cooperation, and commitment.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Ethiopia’s opening up the telecom sector to the private sector is commendable, Michel Gontard said.

Michel Gontard, who is a telecom consultant told ENA that Ethiopia’s openness to the private telecom sector is admirable and it will bring about important technology to the country.

He added that the competition in the telecom sector being witnessed in Ethiopia is the key driver to press Ethiopia into the digital world quickly and to solve the problem of mobile service delivery which is a major problem in Africa.

“A major problem in Africa today is mobile or internet access. So when we talk about competition, we are talking about opening it up to the world, but it’s really wonderful to see that it’s about reducing costs in the telephone world and bringing young people into the digital world, “Gontard pointed out.

He also expressed his belief that the digital infrastructure and telecom sector activities that Ethiopia is currently doing will take the country to a higher level in Africa and could also be a good example to other African countries.

He stressed that the efforts of digital transformation which is being undertaken in Ethiopia should be strengthened in the coming years.

“Despite increasing demand, accessibility, connectivity, reliable and robust digital infrastructure is one of the challenges facing Africa’s digital transformation,” Gontard said, adding that it is the key to aligning Africa’s digital transformation with the strategic goals of focused, universal connectivity and sustainable digital transformation.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Defence Cabinet Secretary Aden Barre Duale has declared war on Al-Shabaab militants who are pestering residents in Northern Kenya and Lamu County in parts of Coast Region. Addressing a baraza at Masalani baraza Park in Ijara Sub County, Duale called on residents to fight back al-Shabaab militants by reporting to the authorities concerned whenever they are spotted and even use their daggers because no one will die twice. Duale noted that he will be soldier number one to fight Al-Shabaab militants and called them not to be afraid as security forces are alert 24/7 noting that the government is in control. The CS who was accompanied by PS Interior and Coordination of National Government Dr Tom Omollo said Al-Shabaab militants were using IED device to cause fear and despondency. He noted that the government of Kenya has a Marshall plan to fight back Al-Shabaab in Kenya and noting that for those who are sympathisers, their days are numbered. Duale noted all deputy County Commissioners, assistant county commissioners, chiefs and their assistants must report to their duty stations to be with residents. He said if the chiefs, assistant chiefs and Deputy Commissioner and government officers are not in their area of jurisdiction, they should resign and pave way for those who will. The CS noted that officers must serve the people they lead. ‘How can residents report this disgruntled element called Al-Shabaab if you yourself who represents the government are not on ground,’ he said. He called on the Deputy County Commissioners for Hulugho, Bothai, Fafi sub Counties to be at their duty stations failure to which the PS Interior should sack them. Omollo noted the negative impact of Al-Shabaab militants to government programmes and noted that they have to be fought by all means. He said this is the region where the militants are hiding and using IED to blow government and security forces vehicles and called it cowardice that will not be tolerated anymore because they deter investor confidence and worry non-governmental organisations operating in the region. Speaker after speaker led by the North Eastern Regional Commissioner John Otieno noted that chiefs and their assistants are the ear of the government on ground and they have to be at their areas of jurisdiction or else they will be sacked. However Ijara MP Abdi Ali Sheikhow recommended that the youth in the area be trained and armed by government so that they supplement government efforts operating in Ijara constituency which borders the Boni forest and the vast Kenya Somalia border so that they can hunt them on foot to their hide outs in the forest. The meeting was attended by Garissa Deputy Speaker Abdi Idle, Garissa Deputy Governor Abdi Dagane, Fafi MP Salah Yakub, all MCAs, Ijara Deputy County commissioner Willy Chemboi, Hulugho Deputy County Commissioner Ezekiel Njoroge among other senior Government officers from both County and national government.

Source: Kenya News Agency