Category: Government Policy

The Federal Law and Justice Institute said that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Ethiopia and Somaliland is legitimate based on legal grounds and international practices.

The workshop held today brought together representatives from Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, House of Peoples’ Representatives and House of Federation as well as other legal institutes.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed inked a historic Memorandum of Understanding in Addis Ababa with the President of Somaliland Muse Bihe Abdi on 1st January 2024.

The MoU for Partnership and Cooperation, between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Somaliland, is intended to serve as a framework for the multisectoral partnership between the two sides.

Most importantly, the MoU is also believed to pave the way to realize the aspiration of Ethiopia to secure access to the sea, as part of its pursuit of diversifying access to seaports on the Red Sea.

In his keynote address to the workshop, Ambassador Degife Bula,
Director General for Federal Law and Justice Institute said that Ethiopia’s desire to have access to sea is a legitimate and genuine approach.

For him, the MoU is vital to unlocking the Red Sea to Ethiopian economy and ensuring mutual benefits.

The director general added that the concerns which some quarters express are in breach of international practices because the MoU enables Ethiopia to pursue its natural quest for ports based on peaceful means, give and take approach, mutual cooperation.

Ethiopia’s deal with Somaliland is legitimate and accepted by international norms, the director emphasized.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Ethiopian Ambassador to Switzerland, UN Geneva, and Austria Tsegab Kebebew met and held discussions with the officials of Austrian government and the United Nations including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Ambassador Kebebew held discussions with Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of IAEA, Robert Zischg, Head of Africa Department of the Austria Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs as well as Jean-Luc Lemahieu, Director, Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs, UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The discussions focused on updates on the current situation in Ethiopia, status of ongoing projects and ways and means of further strengthening relations between Ethiopia and Austria as well as between Ethiopia and the international organizations

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

WINDHOEK: Tears and emotions filled the late President Hage Geingob residence, Casa Rosalia, in Windhoek on Friday afternoon as friends and family viewed his remains following a military procession.

Many in attendance broke into tears of grief as they viewed his remains to pay their last respects to the former Head of State whose brown shining casket was draped in a Namibian flag.

‘Our dear president liked this place, this is where he felt alive, felt at home after a busy day attending to national duties, stressing meetings…He always finds comfort and strength at this house,’ preached pastor Brian Mbazuvara of Inner City Lutheran Church.

Mbazuvara comforted mourners to follow in Geingob’s footsteps of unity in the Namibian house.

‘May our Heavenly Father give us his peace, may his light shine on his journey as well as in our lives as we escort him from Casa Rosalia to his earthly resting place,’ he said.

Geingob’s body will lay in State until Saturday 11h30 before his memorial service, to be followed by
his burial on Sunday at the Heroes’ Acre on the outskirts of Windhoek.

Geingob died on 94 February 2024 at the age of 82 in a Windhoek hospital.

He is survived by his wife Monica Geingos, eight children, three grandchildren and two siblings.

Source: Namibia Press Agency

Jamaican-born Ethiopian curator and Pan-African artist, Desta Meghoo (J.D.) passionately urged Ethiopians to harness the enduring spirit of the Adwa victory to address contemporary challenges and propel the nation towards a brighter future.

Meghoo, who serves as a curator of the Pan-African Wing at Addis Ababa University, views the newly unveiled Adwa Victory Memorial Museum not just as a monument, but as a beacon of hope and unity, not only for Ethiopia but also for Africa and beyond.

She emphasized the need to reignite the true love for humanity, country, and the spirit of unity exemplified by the heroes of Adwa.

“What needs to be restored,” she asserts, “is that true sense of love of country, love of each other. It doesn’t mean we have to agree on everything.”

Recognizing the symbolic significance of Adwa, Meghoo stresses the Adwa Memorial is important and we have a duty to recognize the impact of that event, not just the event itself.

Meghoo urged Ethiopians, especially the youth, to appreciate their
rich heritage and draw lessons from the Battle of Adwa.

The memorial, she believes, should serve as a constant reminder of past struggles and sacrifices, motivating them to carry forward the torch of unity and love for their nation.

She further elaborated “That very battle has allowed us to feel free inside and the significance of the memorial is more for Ethiopians because so many times we have gold in our hand and we think it is dust. So this move to put this memorial here is crucial for the next generations of Ethiopians and especially existing generations to appreciate because Ethiopia is massive.”

Meghoo underscores the profound connection between Adwa and the Pan-African movement.

While acknowledging the significance of earlier victories against colonialism in Haiti and South Africa, she emphasized the decisive nature of Adwa, which served as a resounding affirmation of Black self-determination and the fight against oppression.

Therefore, the 1896 Victory of Adwa propelled the Pan-African movement
forward because “it was an affirmation and the confirmation” to what should be done to protect national sovereignty, which is so precious, she stressed.

Speaking of women’s participation, Meghoo highlighted the crucial role women played in Adwa, led by the formidable Empress Taytu and countless others.

“Women were an integral part of the victory,” she recalled, “and this speaks to the spirit of Africa and Ethiopia. We are a highly social people,”she said.

This battle, she argued, served as a pivotal moment in recognizing and upholding the power of women and this value should continue.

While acknowledging the cultural and economic potential of the Adwa Victory Memorial Museum, Meghoo urged Ethiopians to look beyond mere celebration and delve into deeper introspection.

She emphasized the need to learn from history, address internal challenges, and utilize resources for sustainable development. Only then, she believes, can the spirit of Adwa truly translates into progress and prosperity.

“Having this mus
eum here is another place for visiting and learning,” she added.

“We have 100-plus million people in Ethiopia. Imagine, the revenues if 10 percent of the population are visiting this memorial on an annual basis,’ she said.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

A real capacity that makes Ethiopia a leading country in shipping and logistics services in East Africa is being created, according to Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Enterprise (ESL).

Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Enterprise CEO, Beriso Amelo, told ENA that the enterprise has generated over 27 billion Birr revenue by transporting 400,000 tons of goods during the past six months.

According to him, the enterprise has been carrying out a reform that takes into account the nation’s economic growth and the growing demand of the people.

This has yielded tangible outcomes, he stated, adding that the enterprise exceeded its plan to raise 17 billion Birr revenue by a significant margin and netted 3.2 billion Birr profit.

The CEO has acknowledged the government’s special attention to the advancement of the enterprise over the past five years.

Seizing this opportunity we are working to make Ethiopia own the largest logistics service provider in East Africa, Beriso stated.

As a result, effective expansion of E
thiopia’s shipping transport and logistics destinations as well as building customer base have been underway.

The performance of the Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Enterprise over the past six months shows not only its active involvement in the country’s development but also the commitment to contribute to national goals through provision of efficient services.

Moreover, Beriso pointed out the wide range of investment opportunities in shipping and logistics for those interested in the sector.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Ethiopia is one of the countries that will be seriously considered to host the Timbuktoo initiative hub, a giant scheme with a determined mission of creating a Pan-African startup ecosystem, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

In an exclusive interview with ENA, UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa Director Ahunna Eziakonwa said that Ethiopia has a tremendous potential in innovation and entrepreneurship that would catalyze startups business.

UNDP launched on 17th January 2024 the bold and ambitious Timbuktoo initiative together with African countries at a special session of the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland.

The initiative is aimed at mobilizing one billion USD to transform 100 million livelihoods and create 10 million jobs, it was learned.

Noting that Timbuktoo is a big initiative to boost the startup ecosystem in Africa, Eziakonwa said that Ethiopia is conducive for the advancement of enterprising and entrepreneurship among its youths.

Therefore, ‘Ethiopia will be
one of the countries that will seriously consider hosting the project.’

According to her, UNDP is investing in Ethiopian universities to create space for young people to incubate their ideas and be able to actually influence sustainable development.

‘You have a lot of engineers here graduating out of the universities but not enough jobs for them. So we want to make sure that we create opportunities for these young people who are already skilled to be able to actually become employers themselves to be job creators, not just job seekers.’

Eziakonwa added that UNDP here is very robust in Ethiopia, and it has been working with the Government of Ethiopia in many spheres.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Secretary-General of the Organization of Southern Cooperation (OSC) underlined the need for reforming the international financial architecture to promote fairness.

The global financial architecture only protects the needs and interests of creditors, Secretary-General of OSC, Sheikh Manssour Bin Mussallam told ENA.

It is imperative to reform this financial architecture in a way that promotes fairness and mutual benefit of both the creditors and debtor countries, the secretary-general underscored.

‘It is true that international financial architecture remains creditor centric. It is only preoccupied with protecting the interests of creditors, but does not take into account the legitimate concerns of debtor countries like ours,’ he stated.

Mussallam added the organization of southern cooperation looks forward to working with the African Union (AU) particularly, AU Commission in particular in this regard.

‘In November of 2023, our ministers of finance decided to create a common leveraging union of models, t
he club. And the club acts as the first union of sovereign borrowers or debtors so that we can collectively negotiate debt relief but also the reform of the international financial architecture.

We cannot, whether in Africa, Latin America or Asia, transform that international financial architecture one by one, we need to come together and try to fight with creditors as well for a win-win scenario.’

Speaking on education, which the African Union has named 2024 as the year of education and its theme for its 37th annual summit, the secretary-general indicated that the education system in developing continents, including Africa, is dependent on European culture and history.

‘I think it’s not just Africa. Also in Latin America, and Asia, our education systems remain very Eurocentric. The history of the world, in our schools remains the history of Europe. We also need to reflect our own histories, our own perspectives, our own narratives. And it is not possible that education systems still consider that Af
rican history started in the 60s and I think this is where there is a lot of work to do,’ he revealed.

Accordingly, the education systems should be transformed swiftly in order to reflect the contexts, realities, needs and priorities of the African Union member states, but also that Latin America and Asia.

Mussallam also pointed out that Organization of Southern Cooperation is supporting the implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which is one of the Flagship Projects of Agenda 2063 Africa’s development framework.

Underlining the importance of infrastructural expansion to connect Africa, the secretary-general pledged that his organization will continue to provide the necessary support for the success of this goal.

‘We share many member states with the African Union, and therefore the continental agenda is one that touches directly our member states where we support them in terms of infrastructure development, because if we want free trade among several countries, we need the inf
rastructure for that integration.’

He further stressed the need for investing in the infrastructure to integrate the African countries, adding that ‘we are ready to support in any manner in desire for our common member states but also beyond because we believe that south-south, cooperation and African integration mutually reinforce each other’

The Organization of Southern Cooperation (OSC) was established on 29 January 2020 by countries and organizations from across the Global South at the International Summit on Balanced and Inclusive Education held in the Republic of Djibouti, it was learned.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency