News in Brief

EBC’s interview of Sean Jones, Mission Director of USAID Ethiopia exposes TPLF’s looting of food aid and non-food items (Transcript)

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen exchanges a phone call with External Affairs Minister of India S.  Jaishankar

Africa and the African Union

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia writes on his social media pages on Thursday (02 September) what he thought is necessary to achieve Agenda 2063 in Africa. He said, “The time for Africa is now! Together we can climb faster out of the pit of poverty, insecurity and begging for dignity. Through economic integration, pooling our resources and knowledge, we can collectively realize Agenda 2063.”

The African Union (AU) Commission on Thursday (September 02) received China’s Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccines in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital. The vaccines, donated by the Chinese government, will mainly cover envoys of the AU Commission and African countries in Addis Ababa, said Chen Xufeng, charge d’affaires of the Chinese mission to the AU, at a handover ceremony. “We hope it will help the AU Commission and African diplomats in Addis Ababa to fight the virus and support the AU to better proceed with its work,” he said while the Chinese mission was delivering the doses in the bloc’s headquarters, with the presence of senior AU Commission officials.

Ethiopia

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed participated virtually in the G20 Compact with Africa Conference convened by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday (August 27). Under the title “Framework Conditions for Business and Investment”, the conference focused on how to drive forward the framework conditions for more business and investment opportunities in Compact countries. In his remarks, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed explained the progress of Ethiopia’s homegrown economic reforms through which macroeconomic, structural and sectoral reforms have been put into place to create a conducive investment climate. 

 Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali had a visit to Uganda and Rwanda where he had held good discussions on bilateral and regional issues of mutual significance with  Yoweri K Museveni and  Paul Kagame. Prime Minister Abiy had also held a phone conversation on bilateral relations with the President of Djibouti,  Ismaïl Omar Guelleh.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia,  Demeke Mekonnen, had a discussion with  Raychelle Omamo, Cabinet Secretary of the Foreign Affairs of Kenya, on Friday (02 September) at his office. The two sides have discussed bilateral and regional issues of common concern, including the situation in the northern part of Ethiopia, the negotiations over the GERD, and the Ethiopia-Sudan border issue.  Demeke appreciated the longstanding, fraternal and peaceful relationship between the two countries. He also thanked Kenya for supporting Ethiopia’s cause during the recently held UN Security Council meeting on GERD.  Raychelle Omamo, for her part, reaffirmed Kenya’s commitment to stand by Ethiopia’s effort to realize prosperity and peace in the country.

Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia had exchanged a phone call with  Dr. S.  Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India. The two sides underscored the importance of strengthening the relationship between Ethiopia and India through expanded engagements. (See article)

EBC’s interview with Sean Jones, Mission Director of #USAID to Ethiopia revealed that the TPLF has been involved in stealing food aid from the agency’s warehouses during the group’s aggressive expansion in the Amhara region. He said, “Unfortunately we are seeing a situation in which particularly in Amhara right now, where the TPLF has expanded their very aggressive fight that the TPLF has every town that they’ve gone into, they’ve looted the warehouses, they’ve looted trucks, they have caused a great deal of destruction in all the villages they’ve visited and it’s a great concern for humanitarians.” (See the transcript)

The Ethiopian community gathered in their thousands at the Ethiopian Embassy in London on Monday (August 30) to express their support and solidarity towards the People and Govt. of Ethiopia in containing the threat from internal & external adversaries and sustaining peace and reforms in the country. On the occasion, Ambassador Teferi Meles thanked the Diaspora for their ongoing support in debunking false information on the current situation in Ethiopia and also for their financial contribution towards strengthening the government’s capacity in addressing the needs of the people. The event was organized by Defend Ethiopia UK in collaboration with the Embassy and supported by local Ethiopian businesses.

Addressing the media through the biweekly briefing session of the Office of the Prime Minister on Thursday (September 02), State Finance State Minister Eyob Tekalign (Ph.D.) said that the Ethiopian economy has exhibited remarkable performance during the concluded 2020/2021 fiscal year. The economy remained resilient and maintained a promising path in several aspects, he noted. Despite multiple shocks resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the locust invasion, and security challenges that the country faced in its northern part, the economy has stayed on course. He attributed the performance to the broad-based economic reform the country has been implementing over the past years following the launch of the homegrown economic program.

National Bank of Ethiopia announced plans to implement a new monetary policy in a bid to control the supply of money in the economy. The new monetary policy will increase the statutory reserve requirement, from 5 to 10 percent, effective September 11, 2021. The banks will be required to transfer 50 percent of their foreign exchange holdings to the national bank. The amount of money that banks borrow from the National Bank to meet reserve requirements will also increase from 13pct to 16pct, according to the new policy. The regulation on the use of foreign currencies generated through banks has been revised based on the new policy.

The Emergency Coordination Center (ECC) Ministerial Committee has reviewed on Wednesday (September 01) humanitarian activities undertaken over the past week. The meeting discussed humanitarian assistance in the Afar and Amhara regions, the detailed performance of the relevant sector, special attention to areas of special need, the strengths and weaknesses of the process, and the launch of rehabilitation plan and other related issues. It was indicated that teams of experts from Federal and Regional offices are deployed to the Afar and Amhara regions to facilitate the emergency operations. The Chairperson of the Ministerial Committee and the Peace Minister, Muferihat Kamil, gave directions on the way forward.

Ethiopia has secured 682 Million US Dollars from minerals and gemstones mining sectors during the concluded 2020/2021 fiscal year, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum announced. The Mines and Petroleum State Minister, Simegn Wube stated that the revenue has been earned from the supply of over 9,384 Kg of gold to the National Bank of Ethiopia and mining of gemstones including Tantalum and Opal. Simegn announced a plan to generate more than 1 Billion USD from the mining of gold alone during the already started fiscal year. She also said that 37 potential areas have been identified for petroleum extraction as seven licensed companies are engaged in the sector in various areas of the nation. The State Minister also indicated that activities are underway to develop 6.4 Trillion Cubic Feet of natural gas under the Poly-GCL license.

Ethiopian Airlines Group, the largest aviation group in Africa, has unveiled a new digital option dubbed My Sheba Space that enables economy class travelers to purchase one or more empty seats on board to get extra space and relax. Ethiopian has responded to COVID 19 pandemic by introducing passenger safety guidelines implementing social distancing and sanitization measures in its ultra-modern Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and within the aircraft. Reducing aircraft capacity and the introduction of end-to-end passenger journeys are among the initiatives Ethiopian has taken in its continued pursuit for elevated customer experience.

Ethiopians in Uganda have attended the opening ceremony of the second round of mobilization of support for the Defense Forces of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (ENDF). They have stated that they will stand by Ethiopian Defense Forces in the face of the invasion of the TPLF. Speaking on the occasion, Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Uganda Alemtshay Meseret recalled the TPLF terrorist attack on the Northern Command in October the attacks it has launched in neighbouring regions ignoring the unilateral ceasefire and its employment of child soldiers. She said the attack was carried out in violation of international law that destroyed private property, and public infrastructure, including medical facilities. She said the people of Ethiopia should stand together to fight the terrorist group.

Ethiopians and people of Ethiopian descent living in Israel, in collaboration with the Ethiopian Embassy, discussed ways virtually to support the government and the people of Ethiopia, especially those affected by the war and support the ENDF. They have pledged to continue to work together to defeat the TPLF to destabilize the country.

The newly appointed ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti to Ethiopia,  Ambassador Abdi Mahmoud Ibe, has presented a copy of his credentials on Thursday (01 September) to  Faisal Alie, Director General of Protocol Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.

Eritrea

The Embassy of Eritrea to the US said it was dismayed by the Opinion of the Editorial Board published on August 27 that blindly endorses the unwarranted US sanctions imposed on Eritrea without rudimentary scrutiny and knowledge of the underlying facts.  The statement said, “The Embassy said it was appalled at multiple, gratuitous, assertions that the WP makes and which are grossly at variance with actual facts,” one of which is the misinformation regarding the genesis of the Conflict in the Tigray region. It says, “The Washington Post oddly attributes the genesis and eruption of the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia in early November last year to “a civil dispute turned bloody”. This is astounding and discredits, by and in itself, the whole article. The war started on the night of November 3 when the TPLF launched massive, premeditated, assaults across the entire contingent of Ethiopia’s Northern Command. This War of Insurrection was characterized, by the TPLF itself, as a “blitzkrieg” to neutralize the Northern Command and capture its weaponry which consisted almost 80% of the total arsenal of the Ethiopia’s National Defense Forces (ENDF).  The pronounced aims of the TPLF were to then topple the Federal Government.  Subsequent acts of aggression against Eritrea were part and parcel of this scheme.  The TPLF fielded its 250,000 militias and Special Forces.  A misrepresentation of facts on this scale is both inexplicable and inexcusable.” Please click here to access the full statement: https://shabait.com/2021/09/01/washington-post-is-woefully-wrong-with-its-facts/

Ethiopia has sent the first batch of tree seedlings to Eritrea as part of the efforts to expand its green legacy in the region. The National Green Legacy Initiative Technical Committee Coordinator, Adefris Worku (Ph.D.) told the media on Thursday (September 02) that the plan set to expand the greenery campaign to neighboring countries is well underway as per scheduled. According to the coordinator, the nation is implementing the green legacy campaign in a better way involving the participation of millions of citizens. But, he said, the green legacy initiative has been hindered by the TPLF induced conflict in some parts of the country particularly in Tigray, Afar, and Amhara regional states. Ethiopia, during this rainy season, is working to plant 7 Billion tree seedlings of which 1 Billion are being distributed to neighboring countries in a bid to scale up the initiative at a regional level.

Djibouti

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has held a telephone conversation on Tuesday (August 31) with Djiboutian President, Ismail Omar Guelleh on bilateral issues of mutual interest. The two leaders discussed ways to enhance the historical relationship between Ethiopia and Djibouti. Prime Minister Abiy and President Ismail Omar Guelleh also exchanged views on how to boost bilateral and regional cooperation on issues of mutual significance.

Somalia

A Turkish military aircraft carrying the first batch of Somali female police commandos to complete special training in Turkey landed at Aden Adde International Airport in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday (01 September). Senior government officials, the deputy chief of the Somali police force and Turkish officials welcomed them upon arrival. The female officers will join a Special Forces unit locally known as Harmacad.

The UN has extended its assistance mission in Somalia until May 2022. “The UN Security Council has unanimously extended UNSOM’s mandate until May 2022,” the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) said on Twitter on Tuesday (August 31), a day after the council passed a relevant resolution. In a statement on Monday, the Security Council said it requested UNSOM to strengthen its presence across the country “as the security situation allows.” It added that the council decided that UNSOM should continue to coordinate UN efforts in Somalia, “maximizing joint approaches and programming” in full cooperation with the Horn of Africa country’s federal government and five federal member states, focused “in particular on supporting the acceleration of Government-led inclusive politics.”

Kenya

Tourism Ethiopia, in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, has launched a promotional tour with the participation of Kenyan tour operators, media and celebrities aimed at promoting the Ethiopian tourism industry which has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The delegation visited the National Museum and Entoto Park and scheduled to visit other tourist destinations outside of Addis Ababa.

South Sudan

FDRE Ambassador to South Sudan, Nebil Mahdi had held talks with South Sudanese National Security Minister Gen. Obuto Mamur Mete. Ambassador Nebil on the occasion said there is a strong commitment on both sides to further strengthen the already strong ties between the two countries. The Ambassador also briefed the Minister on the current situation in Tigray and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiations. On his part, Obut Mamur said South Sudan’s Ethiopian relations are built on a deep foundation. He said it was doubtful that South Sudan’s independence would be achieved without Ethiopia’s support. He said Ethiopia’s peace and stability is of great benefit to both South Sudan and the region, adding that it is important to strengthen cooperation with East African countries.

Ambassador Nebil Mahdi delivered a copy of the congratulatory message from Adam Farah, Speaker of the House of Federation of Ethiopia, to Rt.  Deng Deng Akoon on Tuesday (August 31) on his appointment as the Speaker of the Council of States of South Sudan. On this occasion, Ambassador Nebil said as an IGAD member State and a close neighbour, Ethiopia continues to play its role in supporting the full implementation of the South Sudanese peace agreement. The House Speaker said, South Sudan’s borders and territories cannot by any means, be used against Ethiopia’s peace and stability.   He also appealed to Ethiopia and other nations to support his Country towards the full implementation of the peace agreement.

South Sudan has dispatched Vice President Rebecca de Mabior to lead a government delegation to the annual summit of the United Nations. Presidential Affairs minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin told the media on Thursday (02 September) that Nyandeng was picked by President Salva Kiir to lead a delegation to the UN General Assembly meeting in New York later this month.

Sudan

The head of the Sovereign Council and European Union diplomats to Khartoum on Tuesday (August 31) discussed the security situation in Darfur and the border dispute with Ethiopia. European diplomats in Sudan from France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Sweden and the European Union met on Tuesday with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to discuss the ongoing democratic transition in the country. Following the meeting, the Head of the EU Delegation in Sudan Robert van den Dool told reporters that they had a “friendly and constructive” discussion on the transition including Hamdok’s initiative and reiterated their call to form the transitional parliament.

Sudan on Thursday (02 September) said willing to host Afghan refugees evacuated recently after the withdrawal of the U.S. troops from the Muslim country located in South Central Asia. The U.S. army evacuated more than 100,000 Afghans from Kabul since August But they have not been taken directly to the U.S. as many friendly countries showed a willingness to give them temporary asylum to allow Washington to prepare their resettlement.

The Chief of Staff of the Sudanese Armed Forces is visiting Doha for talks on military cooperation with Qatar, said the Sudanese Military Media on Tuesday (August 31). Lt-Gen Mohamed Osman al-Hussein held a meeting with Lt-Gen Ghanim bin Shaheen Al-Ghanim, Chief of Staff of the Qatar Armed Forces, said the military media. “The meeting touched on ways to strengthen relations between the two brotherly armies,” reads the statement. Osman who arrived on Monday is expected to meet other military officials. The two armies conducted joint military exercises in December 2019 in Arkweit of the Red Sea State. In November 2014, the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on military cooperation between them in various fields.

The transitional government on Monday (August 30) launched a new national action plan to combat human trafficking in Sudan which is the primary transit country of migrants to Europe from the Horn of Africa. With the participation of Justice Minister Nasreldine Abdel Bari and European Union Ambassador to Sudan Robert van den Dool, the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCT) inaugurated the National Action Plan for Combating Human Trafficking 2021-2023 in Sudan. Undersecretary Ministry of Justice and NCCT Head Siham Osman stated that the three-year plan aims to curb human trafficking through several programmes to reduce poverty and offer new options for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

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EBC’s interview of Sean Jones, Mission Director of USAID Ethiopia exposes TPLF’s looting of food aid and non-food items (Transcript)

Q: U.S embassy recently issued a statement rejecting any accusation that USAID has been diverting aid to the TPLF fighters. I wonder if you tell me what triggered you to issue that statement.

A: Thank you for the question. Every time we’re presented with an opportunity to share a little bit about our program, it helps us to clarify why we’re here; why the United States is investing so much money, time and love, and passion into Ethiopia to benefit our Ethiopian brothers and sisters. Of course the United States government was very concerned about the recent, I think misrepresentations, and  inaccurate reporting across some of the State-run media channels about USAID information, about USAID assistance in the country and we wanted to make sure that the Ethiopians got other sides of the story that they heard directly from us that in no sense and in no history of humanitarian assistance here in Ethiopia has USAID ever provided any kind of food or drugs or any other kind of assistance to TPLF or to armed groups in Ethiopia.

Q: If USAID did not allow them to access aid, so how could the TPLF fighters get your aid?

A: sure so i think that’s a great opportunity to clarify. And unfortunately you know in a time of war and conflict there are ways that that armed groups get food and non-food items from humanitarian actors of course. We took this allegation very very seriously. So we know that we have not delivered any high-energy biscuits in the Tigray region since February of 2021. Then we started thinking to ourselves how did these TPLF soldiers get access to USAID food and maybe even non-food somewhere? Well unfortunately, we actually, can’t tell you how that happened. But i will tell you in conflict zones i think there are probably three reasons, three ways that armed groups and soldiers might get access to humanitarian supplies: first number one is that often food is sold to soldiers and maybe even to other citizens and so everybody who travels around the country in Ethiopia and you go into rural and even maybe urban local markets you see a lot of humanitarian supplies that are actually being sold, sometimes by people. Maybe they needed cash instead of the food that month and so they’re selling their food assistance that might have been given to them or non-food assistance but you see it everywhere around the country so that’s one way that it could have been.

Another way is that of course we know that some citizens are sympathetic to, in this case, the TPLF and maybe they gave their food to the soldiers. And then of course third is i think the worst thing that could happen, is when soldiers and armed groups come in and they steal that food or non-food from citizens. The worst case scenario is when the people, who are so needy and were recipients of assistance, when things are taken away from them and the food is taken right out of their children’s mouths that’s when we are facing really the worst of what armed groups can do in this country. And unfortunately, we are seeing a situation in which particularly in Amhara right now where the TPLF has expanded their very aggressive fight and we know for a fact in Amhara now, we now know that the TPLF has every town that they’ve gone into they’ve looted the warehouses, they’ve looted trucks, they have caused a great deal of destruction in all the villages they’ve visited and it’s a great concern for humanitarians. Humanitarians have fled for their lives. Again throughout the nine months of the conflict throughout Afar, Tigray, Amhara humanitarians are the ones at the center of the conflict. They’re the first ones to go in and provide life-saving assistance and only when their lives are threatened or when things are stolen or when their buildings are looted or burned down are they the ones to leave and unfortunately we’ve also seen quite a few, i think it’s 15 now of our humanitarian brothers and sisters have lost their lives in the past nine months of conflict.

Q:  So do you believe that the TPLF fighters have been stealing aid from your organization?

I do believe that TPLF has been very opportunistic they maybe they’re stealing from citizens. We don’t have proof of this of course. What we do have proof of is that several of our warehouses have been looted and completely emptied in the areas, particularly Amhara, where the TPLF soldiers have gone into, yes we know that that’s a fact.

Q:  The government has been voicing concern that the TPLF fighters have been stealing aid which was supposed to be delivered to civilians and no organization including USAID did say anything back then and now you’re telling me that the TPLF fighters might still aid. Why didn’t you say anything back then?

A: You know months ago when the federal forces aligned with Eritrean forces were in Tigray there were a lot of theft that was going, that was occurring.  We came out when it was when we had proof and when we had evidence and we came out. First we would speak with the government of Ethiopia we speak with our counterparts and our colleagues in the Ethiopian government and usually we were able to resolve a lot of those issues between governments. We now know because of again new facts have arisen that in recent weeks some of our warehouses have been looted and emptied by advancing TPLF troops and especially in Amhara right now. It’s not that we have disagreed in the past it’s just that the United States doesn’t make comments. First of all we don’t make comments about everything. Second of all, we don’t make comments based on rumour and accusations. We make comments and we call out misdeeds when we know that we have facts that support what we want to say. In this case, we are very confident that in recent weeks we have seen TPLF soldiers emptying some of the warehouses.

Q:  USAID in the statement indicated that it is feeding seven percent of the Ethiopian people. Can you highlight the overall efforts made by your organization in the past nine months?

A: Thank you for that. I always love to talk about the history of U.S assistance here because frankly this is the largest aid program in the entire world. And it’s not just because Ethiopia is going through a challenging time it’s because Ethiopia is absolutely one of our finest and most important partners anywhere in the world and that’s why we invest in Ethiopia. For instance just in the past five years we have invested over 4.2 billion dollars here. Some of which is humanitarian assistance but a lot of it is development assistance. We’re working hand-in-hand with our with our government partners and the Ethiopian people in places like Somali and Benishangul Gumuz and you know Gambella Oromia Amhara even Tigray to make advancements for the benefit of the people here so we have a very long-standing history in Ethiopia. And of course we are providing a lot of humanitarian assistance and i think what we are seeing right now is a result of the U.S government and the American people’s commitment to the Ethiopian people when the Ethiopian people need a helping hand the most. For instance, in places that are outside of Tigray, we are providing emergency aid to 3.5 million Ethiopians. Again, this is outside of Tigray and the northern conflict. This is in places like Benishangul Gumuz and Oromia and Somali, SNNP, where communities are still struggling with conflicts, drought, could be desert locusts, floods whatever it might be, we have been providing assistance for a long time so that’s 3.5 million people.

We also are a big contributor to the government of Ethiopia led productive social safety net program (PSNP), we support 1.6 million people trying to escape from poverty. And then of course as is most aware because of the conflict right now we are providing food support to five million people in in the north right now. This is of course inside of Tigray but also now in Amhara and afar and we’ll continue to support Ethiopians during their time of need.

Q: Do you agree with the notion that the relationship between Ethiopia and the U.S is deteriorating?

I hate to use that word. I think there’s some strain or there’s some stress in our relationship right now. It’s really important i think for the United States as a partner of Ethiopia and we are committed passionate partner about our relationship with the Ethiopian people.  As a partner sometimes we have to raise our voice sometimes, like in a good marriage, sometimes we have to say what we’re feeling at that moment, we have to provide our advice because maybe we’ve been through this already and maybe we see decisions that are being made in our partner, in Ethiopia in this case that might not be and we think might not be in Ethiopia’s best interest. Maybe if people look at it as a deterioration of the relationship, frankly it’s a very honest conversation. I will tell you my relationships with senior Ethiopian government officials has maybe, never been better. I have honest, clear communications with my colleagues in the Ethiopian government every single day to talk about ways that we can resolve things together. Unfortunately, we’re all very distracted by what’s in twitter or Facebook and what a lot of people in the social media are talking about. That is not always the truth and i think people need to make sure they’re trying to find the truth when they’re listening to two sides of an argument

Q: Finally the Ethiopian New Year is approaching, take your time if you have best wish for the Ethiopian people.

A:  Absolutely, so my family and i live in Ethiopia and we want nothing more than for all Ethiopians to have a very prosperous future. It is in the American people’s interest and the U.S government’s interest that Ethiopia be a unified stable and prosperous country for all of its citizens but not just the citizens of today, the future citizens as well as well. USAID is an organization that’s thinking about how do we help our children in the future 20, 30, 40 years from now, how do we help them become more prosperous? And i think as we go through this new year, i would say there’s two things that we need to remember is that when we think about the conflict, there is no benefit to anyone by continuing the kind of conflict that we see right now. You know as Ethiopians have taught me when the elephants continue to fight the grass will continue to be trampled. And i think the second point that I would call out is that this new year in Ethiopia over 900 000 Ethiopian citizens are going to be facing famine and some of those families are not going to survive past the New Year. That is what my organization and my government and the American people are so committed to right now is helping Ethiopians at their time of need.

Please click here to watch the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLh-Im7XEK4

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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen exchanges a phone call with External Affairs Minister of India S.  Jaishankar

Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia has exchanged a phone call on Friday (August 27) with  Dr. S.  Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India.

The Deputy Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to the government of India for supporting Ethiopia’s cause during the UN Security Council meeting on Ethiopia by refusing pressures to intervene in Ethiopia’s internal affairs.

Lauding India’s support to the African Union-led negotiation over the GERD, Demeke called on India to reject Tunisia’s draft resolution that is submitted to the UN Security Council contrary to the tripartite agreement to solve matters according to the provisions of the Declaration of Principles (DOP).

The Deputy Prime Minister also called on India to condemn the terrorist TPLF following his briefing on the TPLF’s criminal activities, its invasion of neighboring regions, and employment of child soldiers with absolute disregard to the unilateral humanitarian ceasefire that was announced by the government.

Dr. S.  Jaishankar said India supported Ethiopia during the Security Council meeting last week being confident that Ethiopia is capable of handling its internal affairs without external interference.

Regarding the GERD issue, he said it is appropriate for the tripartite to address their differences through dialogue and the principle of African solutions to African proble

The two sides concluded their discussion underscoring the importance of strengthening the relationship between Ethiopia and India through expanded engagements.

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