News in Brief
PM Abiy Ahmed Participates at the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union in Malabo
Terrorism and Unconstitutional Change of Government bleeding Africa
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen meets Congressman Trent Kelly to discuss current developments in Ethiopia
Ethiopia Hosts 1st Pan-African Youth Summit
Africa and the African Union
The African Union held two extraordinary summits in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from the 25th to the 28th of May: The Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference and the Extraordinary Summit on Unconstitutional Government Changes in Africa. Around 20 African leaders and donors aiming to generate funding attended the specialized summit and pledging conference. (See article)
Ethiopia
The 15th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on Humanitarian Financing & Pledging Conference and the 16th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Government were held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea from, 27-28 May 2022. The Ethiopian delegation was led by Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. (See article)
A high-level delegation led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived on Thursday (June 02) in Bole Robe town, Oromia Region to visit agricultural works in the area. Senior federal and regional government officials, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn, AU Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo, and World Bank Ethiopia Representative Ousmane Dione are included in the delegation led by the Prime Minister. The delegation visited agricultural works and related activities in the Bale Zone of the Oromia Region.
Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia had a meeting on Thursday (June 02) with Trent Kelly, a member of the House of Representatives of the United States of America. The discussion between the two sides covered measures taken to ensure accountability over human rights abuses in the conflict in the northern part of Ethiopia, supply of humanitarian aid to conflict-affected people, and undergoing efforts to ensure durable peace in the country. (See article)
In discussions with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Demeke Mekonnen, Sheikh Manssour Bin Mussallam, Secretary-General of the Organization of Educational Cooperation, unveiled interest to establish the corporation’s headquarters in Addis Abeba. The Secretary-General called upon the Ethiopian government to accelerate efforts in this regard. Secretary-General Sheikh Manssour Bin Mussallam, met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Demeke Mekonnen, on Tuesday (31 May). The discussions circulated around the priority attachment to education.
Ambassador Mike Hammer will succeed Ambassador David Satterfield as Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Wednesday (June 01). “I am grateful to Ambassador Satterfield and look forward to working with Ambassador Hammer in continuation of our diplomatic efforts in the region.” Secretary Blinken noted.
The African Development Bank has signed an $830,000 technical assistance grant agreement for Ethiopia. The funds will help mainstream climate risk management, gender, and resilience into economic planning and development in the country’s Ziway-Shallah sub-Basin. The signing took place on Thursday (May 26) during the African Development Bank Group’s 2022 Annual Meetings, which took place in Accra.
Minister of Innovation and Technology, Belete Molla, on Thursday (June 01) called on all countries to take part in the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) that Ethiopia is preparing to host from 28 November to 2 December 2022 in Addis Ababa. The Minister appeared as a high-level guest speaker and roundtable discussant in the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum 2022 that is being held at the ITU Headquarters in Geneva from May 30 to June 3, 2022.
A three-day-long Pan-African Youth Summit took place in Addis Ababa last week from May 25-27. The event was kicked off on May 25, the Day people of the continent celebrate Africa Day. The first-ever African Youth Summit made its theme: ‘Building on Pan-African Ties and Promoting Indigenous Knowledge in Africa”. The summit was attended by high-level government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen and the Minister of Women and Social Affairs of Ethiopia, Ergogie Tesfaye who delivered remarks emphasizing the expected results of the youth summit. (See article)
Ethiopian Ambassador to China, Ambassador Teshome Toga held a virtual discussion on Thursday (June 02) with ZHANG Lihua, Deputy Director-General of Regional Affairs Department of China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), on strengthening the relationship between Ethiopia and CIDCA. During the discussion, Ambassador Teshome noted that the two countries have enjoyed a strong diplomatic relationship for more than half a century and called on CIDCA to continue its assistance to new and ongoing projects under the development cooperation goals of Ethiopia’s 10-year national development plan and the 8th Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) ministerial conference.
Ethiopian Ambassador in Uganda, Alemtshay Meseret, had a meeting on Wednesday (June 01) with the Minister of Defense of Uganda, Vincent Ssempijja, about regional and bilateral issues of common concern. The Ambassador recalled the cooperation between the two countries in fighting extremism and terrorism in Somalia and South Sudan, further stressing Ethiopia’s readiness to maintain and strengthen the spirit of such cooperation. The Defense Minister, on his part, recalled the commendable relationships between the two countries, which set its foundation in shared values of Pan-Africanism. Uganda values its brotherly and friendly relationships with Ethiopia and will not open its doors to anti-peace elements in Ethiopia, he said.
Ethiopia reiterated to play a leading role in the Red Sea Initiative to combat piracy in the East African region. Commissioner General of the Ethiopian Federal Police Commission, Demelash Gebremichael attended on Wednesday (June 01) a conference organized by INTERPOL to evaluate the implementation of the Red Sea Initiative. Officials of the Red Sea Initiative briefed Commissioner-General Demelash on the activities being carried out under the umbrella of the project.
Somalia
The US forces have conducted the first airstrike against the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group al-Shabaab in Somalia since US President Joe Biden reauthorized sending US troops to Somalia, killing five al-Shabaab terrorists on Friday (June 03). A statement by the Somali Information Ministry said the airstrike was conducted in coordination with the federal government of Somalia.
Somali National Army (SNA) said on Wednesday (June 01) its elite forces, Danab, killed four al-Shabab terrorists during a military operation conducted in Jubba regions, southern part of the country on Tuesday. The SNA commanders who led the operation told Radio Mogadishu that the elite forces also arrested Mohamed Abdi Mukhtar who was the head of the operations in the Lower Juba regions.
The United Nations humanitarian agency has warned of the devastating outlook for millions of drought-affected Somalis amidst heightened risks of famine. Adam Abdelmoula, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, called on Tuesday (May 31) development partners to act urgently and help scale up resources to match the rapidly increasing needs and save more lives in Somalia.
South Sudan
The head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Nicholas Haysom has urged parties to expedite the implementation of key provisions of the peace accord, before it elapses. He remarked this during the 22nd plenary meeting convened by the Revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (R-JMEC) in Juba on Thursday (June 02).
South Sudan’s unity government has described the recent renewal of arms embargo and sanctions by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) as unproductive. The Security Council voted to renew the sanctions amid unrest in the country. In a press statement on Friday (May 27), South Sudan’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Ministry said the Security Council should have followed the African Union position. “The African people have spoken clearly through the African Union Decision 815 of February 2022 that sanctions and arms embargo is unproductive. That some countries would dismiss the African Union’s stance on this matter shows an old hubris with no value for a world shaken by wars, including Africa and Europe,” said the ministry.
Ethiopian Ambassador in South Sudan, Nebil Mahdi, held a meeting with Mayiik Ayii Deng, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of South Sudan. The conversation revolves around the proposed meeting of Joint Border Administrators of the two countries sometime next month in the Gambella Region of Ethiopia. The two sides noted that the joint consultation would sustain border security, create conducive environment for development projects, and ease the movement of people, goods, and services.
River transport between Sudan and South Sudan has resumed after more than a decade, raising hopes it will promote trade and facilitate communication between the two countries. Speaking to Sudan Tribune on Monday (May 30), South Sudan’s presidential advisor on security affairs Tut Gatluak Manime said the re-opening of the transport represents the growth of strong cooperation between the leadership of the two countries for the benefit of the people between the two countries
Sudan
Sudan has accepted South Sudan’s proposal to hold a conference seeking to bring together different Sudanese stakeholders in the quest for an amicable solution to the country’s political crisis, an official said. Tut Kew Gatluak, South Sudan’s presidential adviser on security affairs lauded the leadership in Sudan for accepting Juba’s proposal for peace. The conference, he said on Thursday (June 02), will enlist participation in the drafting of the concept and the agenda of the regional and international organizations and the Sudanese, adding that the organizing secretariat would include representatives from the African Union (AU), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and United Nations.
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PM Abiy Ahmed Participates at the Extraordinary Summit of the African Union in Malabo
The 15th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on Humanitarian Financing & Pledging Conference and the 16th Extraordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Government were held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea from, 27-28 May 2022. The Ethiopian delegation was led by Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
The Humanitarian Segment of the Summit which was held on 27 May 2022 discussed the theme “Humanitarian Financing: Addressing the Current Humanitarian Challenges in Africa”. The objective of the Summit was to deliberate upon the current humanitarian situation in Africa and to mobilize continental and international support and resources for humanitarian response. Ethiopia’s contribution to the debate was delivered by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
In his statement, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed shared lessons learnt from past experiences of recurrent droughts in the Horn of Africa. He explained how the worst drought that hit Ethiopia recently resulted in the loss of livestock and displacement of people. He also intimated to the Summit how the government’s early response and national efforts undertaken to enhance the effectiveness of disaster risk management have helped to reduce the overall socio-economic impact. Recognizing that the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia has largely been exacerbated by climate change and weather-induced droughts, the Prime Minister indicated that several policies and institutional measures have already been put in place to address the problem. He shared Ethiopia’s successful endeavors in mobilizing the public to engage in planting billions of trees every year and affirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to keeping the momentum in the coming years.
The Prime Minister also underscored that the humanitarian situation in the northern part of Ethiopia is improving significantly. He stated that Ethiopia has intensified its efforts towards the provision of humanitarian assistance to millions affected by the conflict including displaced persons, even though the country is under immense pressure caused by the socio-economic impact of COVID-19 and the recent hike in global inflation. He affirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to consolidate the indefinite unilateral humanitarian truce and other confidence-building measures to ensure unhindered humanitarian assistance to those in need in Tigray, Afar, and Amhara regions.
Moreover, the Prime Minister expressed that as part of Ethiopia’s open-door policy of welcoming refugees and migrants as well as upholding its commitment to its international obligations, our Country is currently hosting close to a million refugees and asylum seekers. He also raised the ongoing efforts to repatriate thousands of Ethiopian returnees from Saudi Arabia.
The Prime Minister finally expressed his gratitude to international partners and called on them to elevate their financial assistance to address gaps in the provision of humanitarian support to all those affected in Africa.
During the discussions, African leaders highlighted the need for stronger African solidarity and cooperation to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the continent. Many emphasized the importance of tackling root causes that drive humanitarian crises in Africa including armed conflicts and the impact of Covid-19, among others. Leaders also commended the important progress achieved in the process of advancing the establishment of the African Union Humanitarian Agency while underscoring that its expedited operationalization will enable Africa to respond in a meaningful and effective way to the humanitarian crisis in the continent.
African leaders also underlined the need for increased funding for humanitarian response by augmenting resource mobilization from the continent. In this regard, during the pledging conference, millions of dollars were pledged by the African Member States. International partners ranging from governmental to intergovernmental and non-governmental as well as the private sector also made financial pledges for strengthening the African Union’s capacity to withstand emergencies in Africa. At the end of the Summit, the leaders endorsed the Assembly Declaration affirming commitments to addressing humanitarian challenges of the Continent.
The Extraordinary Summit on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Government was held on 28 May 2022 under the theme: “Robust Response, Deepening Democracy, and Collective Security”. The Summit reflected on the situation of terrorism, violent extremism, and unconstitutional changes of government (UGC) on the continent, to find collective responses. The Summit noted with dismay the ever-expanding scourges of Terrorism and UCGs in Africa, increasingly threatening the peace, security, and stability of the Continent. Furthermore, the Summit discussed underlying causes and following an evaluation of current response mechanisms, deliberated on concrete measures to address the challenges.
Among others, the summit decided to immediately operationalize the African Standby Force (ASF) and the Sub-committee on Counter-Terrorism and mandated the AU commission to develop a comprehensive Strategic Plan of Action for countering terrorism and violent extremism on the continent. Furthermore, the Summit endorsed the Accra Declaration which is the outcome of the Reflection Forum on UGC held in Ghana. African leaders also decided to institute 31 January as Africa Day of Peace and Reconciliation and appointed Joao Laurenzo, President of the Republic of Angola, as AU Champion for Peace and Reconciliation in Africa.
Most importantly, the summit underlined the need for stronger cooperation and solidarity among member states to prevent and counter the threats. Ethiopia’s delegation highlighted the fact that the country has been a victim of both threats. The delegation also emphasized the need for the mandate of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to be reviewed to enable it to provide early warning signs of potential unconstitutional changes in Government.
The two Summits were preceded by the Extraordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union which was held on 25 May 2022 as well as the 4th Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee (STC) of Ministers concerned with Migration, Refugees, and IDPs held from 23-24 May 2022.
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Terrorism and Unconstitutional Change of Government bleeding Africa
The African Union held two extraordinary summits in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from the 25th to the 28th of May: The Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference and the Extraordinary Summit on Unconstitutional Government Changes in Africa. Around 20 African leaders and donors aiming to generate funding attended the specialized summit and pledging conference.
The Extraordinary African Union Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference deliberated efforts by African leaders to address the current humanitarian challenges that Africa is facing, which are exacerbated by the socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and disasters across the continent, identify durable solutions to address the current humanitarian challenges, particularly those that contribute to post-conflict recovery, peace, and development.
Humanitarian Crises: – prevention is not only better but “easier than cure”
The humanitarian summit focused on five thematic areas: Climate change, disasters and forced displacement in Africa; Food security and nutrition challenges in humanitarian emergency contexts; Health challenges in the humanitarian space in Africa; Post-conflict reconstruction for refugees and internally displaced persons; and how to revitalize resource mobilization and funding for humanitarian action in Africa.
Member states and donors emphasized that increasing climate disasters, as well as heightened terrorist activities, conflicts, political instability, and health pandemics, are driving humanitarian needs in Africa. Leaders also said that this has slowed development in other areas, including health, education, food security, and people’s livelihoods.
Senegalese President Macky Sall, in his inaugural speech serving as a chairperson, urged his counterparts to tackle the root causes of humanitarian crises on the continent, reminding them that “prevention” is better and “easier than cure”.
AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat for his part said that 113 million Africans need urgent humanitarian assistance this year, including 48 million refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people. He also discussed how current global realities are exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe.
“Africa has become the collateral victim of a distant conflict, that between Russia and Ukraine. By profoundly upsetting the fragile global geopolitical and geostrategic balance, it has also cast a harsh light on the structural fragility of our economies. This crisis is characterized by a shrinking world supply of agricultural products and soaring inflation of food prices,” he stressed.
Ethiopia’s Exemplary Green Legacy
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, speaking at the AU Extraordinary Humanitarian Summit and Pledging Conference in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, emphasized that the Horn of Africa subcontinent is one of the places affected by climate change, including terrible drought conditions.
Drought has devastated some parts of Ethiopia, killing a large number of cattle and forcing a large number of people to flee their homes. To improve the effectiveness of natural disaster risk management, national actions are being taken. Work carried out with the assistance of partners has aided in the reduction of overall socio-economic repercussions.
“Lessons from our past experiences of recurrent droughts in the Horn of Africa region have shown us that stronger preventive measures are critical” he underlined. Ethiopia has begun executing the Green Legacy Initiative to help it plant billions of trees per year to minimize the effects of climate change since 2019, according to the Prime Minister.
Ethiopia is also embarking on cluster farming and irrigation-based lowland wheat cultivation in order to boost agricultural production and assure food security.
The Prime Minister also reaffirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to ensuring that individuals affected by natural and man-made calamities receive aid. Strengthening humanitarian operations necessitates significant resources, which can only be obtained with the help of foreign partners, he added, urging the international community to do its role in bridging the gaps in the continent’s humanitarian assistance efforts.
Terrorism and Unconstitutional Change – The recurrent “Cancer”
The second summit on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Change of Governments assessed persistent threats, evaluate current response mechanisms, and decide on the specific actions and measures necessary to strengthen the collective security of Member States facing terrorism and violent extremism. Furthermore, the Summit discussed actionable measures needed to stem their upsurge on the continent. Among other issues, the Assembly also considered the recommendations in the Accra Declaration on Unconstitutional Changes of Government in Africa emanating from the AU Reflection Forum, held on 15-17 March 2022 in Accra, Ghana.
While countries such as Libya, Mozambique, Somalia, the Sahel region, West Africa’s Lake Chad Basin, and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are all dealing with rebellions and jihadist insurgencies, civilian regimes in Mali, Sudan, Guinea, and Burkina Faso have been overthrown in the last two years. As a result, the latter four states were barred from attending the summit, as the AU had suspended their participation in its procedures and issued sanctions, as had other African and international organizations.
AU chief Mahamat called terrorism a “cancer” progressively infecting the whole continent with painful economic and security consequences. He said, “Africa is the last continent in the world to experience such high levels of terrorism and unconstitutional government changes. We should take up this challenge and overcome it at the continental level,”
The UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Counter-Terrorism, Vladimir Voronkov, for his part claimed it has jeopardized the continent’s stability. “Terrorism remains a significant global threat affecting the lives of millions of people. This has been felt particularly in the five regions of Africa where terrorist activities have regrettably increased. Approximately half of the deaths attributed to terrorism globally last year were recorded in the continent.”
Africa needs a SEAT in UN Security Council
African leaders also emphasized the importance of the continent’s inclusion in the global security framework. President João Lourenço of Angola said that “the current conflict in Europe teaches us that security issues are always at the center of international cooperation, in the first place, each continent must have its own common defense strategy. This conflict also confirms the deep inequalities in the treatment of countries and peoples in the face of wars, pandemics and natural disasters,” said João Lourenço, President of Angola.
The President of Angola echoed Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairman of the African Union Commission, in calling for reorganization and regrouping of the African military. He also demanded that African countries be admitted as permanent members of the UN Security Council.
“This unjust and shameful situation once again raises the need for a reformulation of the United Nations Security Council that does not only circumscribe the victorious great powers of the Second World War, but that considers the entry of representatives of countries from Africa and Latin America, the Indian subcontinent of the Middle East as permanent members with full powers,” he stressed.
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Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen meets Congressman Trent Kelly to discuss current developments in Ethiopia
Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, had a meeting yesterday with Trent Kelly, member of the House of Representative of the United States of America. The discussion between the two sides covered measures taken to ensure accountability over human rights abuses in the conflict in the northern part of Ethiopia, supply of humanitarian aid to conflict-affected people, and undergoing efforts to ensure durable peace in the country.
Trent Kelly said the United States values transparency and openness to strengthen its relations with Ethiopia, reiterating his preference not to support HR6600 and S3199.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister appreciated Trent Kelly for showing interest in Ethiopian affairs and visiting Ethiopia to understand situations on the ground. He expressed hope that the United States would note the peacebuilding efforts of the government of Ethiopia and discard the proposed bills that would eventually affect ordinary Ethiopians.
In their discussion on the measures taken to ensure independent investigation and accountability for alleged human rights violations in Tigray, Demeke mentioned concrete steps taken by the government. He said, in order to implement the recommendations of the joint OHCHR-EHRC investigation report, the government of Ethiopia established an inter-Ministerial committee comprising high-profile and skilled law enforcement personnel. As a result, some individuals, including members of the ENDF, were prosecuted and brought before justice, he said. Regrettably, he said the UN Human Rights body decided to rerun the UN-EHRC joint investigation incurring an unnecessary duplication of efforts and undermining the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. The proposed investigative works of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts should have also taken the demands of Ethiopians to investigate the human rights abuses committed by the TPLF in the Afar and Amhara regions into account too, he stressed.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister mentioned the confidence building measures taken by the government to pave the way for dialogue and lasting peace in the country, citing the lifting of the state of emergency before its due date, the release of high-profile prisoners, and the declaration of humanitarian truce. Demonstrating its commitment to peace, the government of Ethiopia also decided not to enter the Tigray region after the TPLF forces were pushed back from the areas they had invaded in the Amhara and Afar regions and declared an indefinite humanitarian truce, he said. Despite all these verifiable measures for peace by the Ethiopian government, the TPLF is preparing for another round of conflict, he said, calling on the United States of America and the international community to put pressure on the TPLF to renounce its anti-peace activities.
Present at the meeting, Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson, Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia, appreciated the proper response of the Ethiopian government to cooperating with humanitarian partners in facilitating access to humanitarian supply to affected people in Tigray, including fuel supply. She also spoke about the encouraging works of the National Dialogue Commission and the peace initiatives of former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, further offering her country’s support whenever necessary.
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Ethiopia Hosts 1st Pan-African Youth Summit
A three-day-long Pan-African Youth Summit took place in Addis Ababa last week from May 25-27. The event was kicked off on May 25, the Day people of the continent celebrate Africa Day. The first-ever African Youth Summit made its theme: ‘Building on Pan-African Ties and Promoting Indigenous Knowledge in Africa”. The summit was attended by high-level government officials, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen and the Minister of Women and Social Affairs of Ethiopia, Ergogie Tesfaye (Ph.D.) who delivered remarks emphasizing the expected results of the youth summit.
In opening the session, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Demeke Mekonnen, delivered a keynote speech recalling the liberation struggles in Africa and calling on the youth to join hands in fighting contemporary challenges. “My first message is about the need to connect our ties to our past and equip ourselves well towards reclaiming a bright future for our continent,” he said, adding, “Keeping our values and learning from our past will help us see the future. The dots that we try to connect from our past will chart our future.”
Recalling and appreciating the struggles of the past generation of Africans from the yoke of colonialism collaborating under the spirit of Pan-African ideals, he called on the youth of Africa to contribute to “the second liberation of Africa: The liberation of Africa from poverty and under development. “
Concerning the huge population of the youth in Africa, he stressed that the massive young population of Africa should be considered a blessing and a great resource. With this in mind, he said the African youth should be problem-solvers, studying for excellence and converting challenges into opportunities equipped with information. Being open-minded to learning from other societies and cultures would help us solve contemporary challenges, he added.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister concluded his remarks by expressing confidence that there would be many more editions of similar summits, expanding opportunities for networking and experience sharing for succeeding generations of African youth.
The Minister of Women and Social Affairs of Ethiopia, Ergogie Tesfaye (Ph.D.), also delivered a speech noting the role of the victory of Adwa in inspiring Pan-African movements and anti-colonialism struggles. Containing vast natural resources with a high number of young people, Africa has immense potential for development, she noted. “In the absence of technological and financial capitals, we cannot get rid of poverty from the continent,” she said, adding, “The continent is expected to pay its attention to the development of technology and innovation.” Although poverty still challenges Africa, the youth should deal with it with a problem-solving mentality and undivided attention to education, she said.
Stressing the importance of the African Youth Summit to deliberate youth-related problems of the continent, she said, the summit will “contribute to creating the appropriate working environment to utilize African history and culture for mutual benefit.” She also called for enhancing indigenous knowledge with scientific research, making it useful to realize the Africa we want, as outlined in Agenda 2063 of the continent. The Minister highlighted the various measures that the government of Ethiopia has been undertaking to empower the youth and engage them in economically productive endeavors.
She finally concluded her remarks by expressing hope that the platform will serve as a springboard to share experiences, exchange cultural values and African indigenous knowledge, and the outcome of the event will contribute to policy dialogue and youth leadership development.
Participants in the African Youth Summit also paid visits to several public development projects during their stay in Addis Ababa. A closing ceremony was held at Friendship Park, awarding participants of the summit and co-organizers with certificates of recognition. African Youth Development and Excellence Center, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs of Ethiopia co-organized the closing program. Besides promoting Ethiopia, the summit provided opportunities for the African youth to reflect on the challenges they face and exchange experiences in solving them. Participants recommended the Pan-African Youth Forum be celebrated every year.
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