26.01.2024
Premiere Abiy Participates at the 19th NAM Summit in Kampala
“Africa needs to prepare itself to compete in a multipolar landscape” – DPM an FM Demeke Mekonnen
The Prime Minister’s Foreign Policy Advisor Briefs the Annual Ambassadors Retreat
154th Session of WHO Executive Board Endorses a Draft Decision Tabled by Ethiopia
Heads of Missions Visit the Institute of Foreign Affairs
News in Brief
Africa and the African Union
From Tuesday to Wednesday (January 22 and 23), the African Union Political Affairs Peace and Security held a consultative meeting with Member States and Project Partners on the support for the implementation of the African Union Transitional Justice Policy (AUTJP) in country contexts, in Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia
A high-level delegation led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday (January 19) participated on the 19th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Kampala, Uganda (See Article).
On Friday (January 18), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen, participated in a panel discussion entitled Middle Powers in a Multipolar World at the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland (See Article).
During the Annual Ambassadors Retreat on Monday (January 22), Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister told participants, consolidated diplomatic engagement at the headquarters and missions’ level is expected to advance Ethiopia national interests.
On Wednesday (January 24), the Prime Minister’s Foreign Policy Advisor and Minister and seasoned diplomat, Ambassador Taye Atske-Selassie, briefed heads of Ethiopian missions overseas on the need to protect the national interests of Ethiopia with a better understanding of the global situation and to foster foreign relations predicated on forging consensus, friendship, cooperation and diversification of partnerships (See Article).
On Thursday (January 25) the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) and its Kenyan counterpart National Intelligence Service (NIS) reached an agreement to enhance intelligence sharing and conduct of joint operations to ensure regional peace and security.
State Minister for Resources and Services Ambassador Birtukan Ayano on Monday (January 22) at the Annual Ambassadors Meeting moderated a discussion session focusing on efficient utilisation of human and financial resources in the conduct of diplomacy.
State Minister Ambassador Mesganu Arga presided on Monday afternoon (January 22) over an Ethiopian Diaspora Diplomacy Forum organised by the Ethiopian Diaspora Service at the Science Museum on the margins of the ongoing Diplomacy Week Exhibition.
State Minister for Political and Economic Diplomacy, Ambassador Mesganu Arga, met on Tuesday (January 23) with a Chinese business delegation led by the Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Zhang Shaogang (Tuesday, January 23) and US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Ambassador Mike Hammer and EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore on Wednesday (January 24).
Over the week, the 154th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board (EB 154) that is taking place from 22-27 January 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland endorsed the draft decision on the development of global strategy and action plan on integrated emergency, critical and operative care (ECO) 2026-2035 (See Article).
The State Minister of Planning and Development, Dr. Nemera Gebeyehu, on Tuesday (January 23) briefed the annual gathering heads of Ethiopian diplomatic and consular missions overseas on strategic planning based on Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
A delegation headed by Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Samuel Isa, on Monday (January 22) took part in the Third South Summit of the Group of 77 and China (G77+China) themed “Leaving No One Behind” in the Uganda Capital, Kampala.
On Tuesday (January 23), Heads of Ethiopian Diplomatic and Consular Missions overseas, who have gathered in Addis Ababa for the annual retreat, visited the Institute of Foreign Affairs (IFA), an affiliated institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia (See Article).
On Friday (January 26), the East African Pastoralists’ Expo opened at the Millennium Hall in Addis Ababa. The opening ceremony was attended by the Speaker of the House of Peoples Representatives, Tagesse Chaffo, the Irrigation and Lowlands Minister, Aysha Mohammed and representatives of pastoralists in the East African region.
Djibouti
Ethiopian Minister of Water and Energy Habtamu Itefa during an inspection tour of the Ethio-Djibouti potable water project on Sunday (January 21) said, Ethiopia will increase the amount of safe drinking water supplies to Djibouti from 20,000 to 100,000 cubic meters per day.
Eritrea
A high-level delegation led by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh took part in the two day (Sunday, Monday, 21-22 January) Third South Summit of G77+China in Kampala, Uganda. The delegation previously attended the 19th NAM Summit.
Canadian Nahla Valji on Sunday (Janaury 21) assumed her post as United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in the country. She was by appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Kenya
President William Ruto and his delegation attended the 19th NAM Summit in Kampala, Uganda.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi on Thursday (January 25) embarked on a three-day official visit to China to follow on the varuous discussions and agreements signed between the two countries.
Mining and Blue Economy Cabinet Secretary Salim Mvurya disclosed on Wednesday (January 24) that deposits of coltan, metallic mineral chiefly used for electronic chips has been discovered in six counties.
Attorney General Justin Muturi on Tuesday (January 23) pleaded with the Supreme Court with regards to the legal consequences and effects of decisions of the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) on the country’s sovereignty in particular on the regional body’s jurisdiction to interpret the constitutions of member states.
South Sudan
President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on Saturday (January 20), discussed bilateral ties, as well as regional and global issues, on the margins of the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Kampala, Uganda. Afterwards, President Salva Kiir also conferred with the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of the Sudan, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, on Saturday in Kampala, Uganda.
Sudan
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) on Monday (January 22) announced that the renewed fighting in the country displaced half a million people adding that “Sudan is now the country with the largest number of displaced people and the largest child displacement crisis in the world.”
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Premiere Abiy Participates at the 19th NAM Summit in Kampala
A high-level Ethiopian delegation headed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed participated in the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) hosted by the Ugandan Capital, Kampala at the Speke Resort Convention Center from 19 to 20 January 2024.
Addressing the Summit, Prime Minister Abiy highlighted key domestic, regional and global issues of importance. On a global front, he emphasized the need reform the global governance architecture including financial, monetary and security architectures in a more inclusive, representative and just manner to address global challenges.
The Prime Minister also reiterated that landlocked countries face insurmountable challenges hindering their ability to fulfill the demands of their people for adequate and sustained livelihoods and to ensure their development. It is within these developmental constraints and strategic prisms that Ethiopia continues to seek a peaceful and mutually beneficial and negotiated solution to such a challenge, the Prime Minister underscored. Post-2018 domestic reforms on multiple key areas were also highlighted as part of Ethiopia’s journey to ensure a holistic prosperity in a more comprehensive manner.
On the sidelines of the NAM meeting in Kampala, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also held multiple bilateral engagements with heads of state and government. Particularly, Prime Minister Abiy held a bilateral meeting with President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda to exchange views on key issues of bilateral and regional importance. In other bilateral meeting, the Prime Minister met with President Ranil Wickremesinghe of Sri Lanka to affirm Ethiopia’s readiness to enhance commercial ties and collaborate on multilateral issues. The Prime Minister and President William Ruto of Kenya also discussed regional and bilateral issues.
On backdrop of a growing multipolar world order, the two-day summit, under the theme “Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence” brought together over 120 developing countries expanding regional and global power. Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov, who opened the summit on behalf of the Azerbaijan president and outgoing chair of the NAM, said the meeting takes place at a time when the international system is facing many challenges. He called for continued unity among the member countries to address these challenges.
During the conference, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was elected by acclamation as the chair of the 19th NAM Heads of State and Government Summit taking over from President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan. The chairmanship runs for three years. In his speech, President Museveni informed the Heads of State and Heads of Delegations that Uganda’s stand is that the world should concentrate on the common human problems ─ prosperity through trade, the advance of science and technology to deal with human problems, the environment, crime and terrorism. He said such ideas are in line with the Bandung Principles, a basis on which NAM was formed. “It is on these principles that NAM was founded. We, the resistance fighters of Uganda, can testify that by synthesizing the package of ideas, we have got very good results. Using the ideas of the free market, combined with the ideas of selective State intervention in the economy in some sectors like banking, energy, transport, etc. and also bringing back some aspects of the pre-capitalist institutions such as reformed cultural institutions, Uganda, although starting from a very low base, has had growth rates of 6.2% per year, for the last 37 years.”
The Summit in Uganda, Kampala concluded with the adoption of three key documents: The Outcome Document of the 19th Summit of the NAM, The Kampala Declaration and The Political Declaration of the Ministerial Committee of the NAM on Palestine.
“Africa needs to prepare itself to compete in a multipolar landscape” – DPM an FM Demeke Mekonnen
On 18 January 2024, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Demeke Mekonnen, participated in a panel discussion entitled Middle Powers in a Multipolar World and moderated by Former Minister for European Union Affairs of Sweden and European Commissioner for Trade from 2014 to 2019, Anna Cecilia Malmström, as part of the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The session was organized by Centre for Regions, Trade and Geopolitics of the WEF.
Speaking at the panel, DPM and FM Demeke said, the contemporary global order is evolving in such a way that the current geopolitical dynamism is indicative of the existence of multiple actors that includes the rise of middle powers. The emergence and active role of middle powers is fast becoming a reality in the security, economic and digital spheres, he added. In this context, the DPM and FM told the gathering, at the moment Africa is a rising continent with a huge potential. The existence of emerging economies in Africa shows that Africa needs to prepare itself to compete in a multipolar landscape, DPM and FM Demeke noted.
On the other hand, Demeke highlighted the plethora of interlinked challenges the continent has been facing including climate change and the energy transition, under-development, the technological divide, the reskilling imperative and the debt burden. In spite of these manifold challenges, Demeke stressed, Africa is rising and African countries are quickly evolving to compete on the global level.
Speaking of Ethiopia’s recent membership to the BRICS bloc, Ethiopia together with fellow African countries is focused on playing crucial roles in the international system in terms of further bolstering trade, investment, tourism and other key economic undertakings. He said, the establishment of the Brazil-India-China-South Africa family with the addition of scions of middle powers such as Ethiopia provides ample opportunity to enhance multilateralism, to which Ethiopia has a longstanding subscription and creates a conducive atmosphere for more partnerships among developed, developing and underdeveloped countries and regions of the world.
World Economic Forum (WEF) is an annual gathering of world leaders in the Swiss Alpine city of Davos, famous for its ski resorts, to discuss matters pertaining to “the fundamental principles driving trust, including transparency, consistency and accountability” in the international system. Themed “Rebuilding Trust”, this year’s 54th edition of the annual meeting brought together participants from over hundred countries and international organizations, civil society and youth leaders, experts, industry titans and leading global media houses.
The Prime Minister’s Foreign Policy Advisor Briefs the Annual Ambassadors Retreat
During Wednesday’s (January 24) session of the Annual Ethiopian Ambassadors Retreat, various papers highlighting the manifold regional and geopolitical shifts and issues of peace, security and development were presented by heads of missions, director generals, veteran diplomats as well as senior researchers from the Institute of Foreign Affairs.
The Prime Minister’s Foreign Policy Advisor and Minister and seasoned diplomat, Ambassador Taye Atske-Selassie, also briefed the envoys on the need to protect the national interests of Ethiopia with a better understanding of the global situation and to foster foreign relations predicated on forging consensus, friendship, cooperation and diversification of partnerships.
Diplomacy is a multi-stakeholder endeavor that requires seamless synergy and cooperation among key stakeholders to achieve key foreign policy priorities, Ambassador Taye stated.
In his concluding remarks, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Mesganu Arga said, Ethiopia’s diplomats together with partners should champion an assertive diplomatic posture and heads of missions overseas ought to discharge their leadership duties in manner that is cognizant of major geopolitical dynamics.
Multiplying partnerships and alliances should also be the hallmark of Ethiopia’s foreign relations that is geared towards protecting and promoting our national interests, the State Minister stressed.
The discussion session was moderated by State Minister Ambassador Mesganu Arga.
154th Session of WHO Executive Board Endorses a Draft Decision Tabled by Ethiopia
The 154th session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board (EB 154) that is taking place from 22-27 January 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland endorsed the draft decision on the development of global strategy and action plan on integrated emergency, critical and operative care (ECO) 2026-2035.
This decision has been tabled by Ethiopia on behalf of the 47 member states of the African region with 81 countries co-sponsoring including 27 Member States of the EU, USA, Brazil, China, Afghanistan, Malaysia and Bangladesh. This decision is believed to give impetus to the WHA 76.2 resolution on Integrated emergency, critical and operative care for universal health coverage and protection from health emergencies, a resolution that has also been spearheaded by Ethiopia.
In line with this mandate, Member States and WHO are expected to accelerate efforts, to mobilize further resources and enhance collaboration for reorientation of health systems towards primary health care approach.
Ethiopia made several inputs to the discussion and debate which will help with increasing efficiency, effectiveness and synergy to advance UHC, delivering impact in countries.
In this session Ethiopia was represented by a delegation led by State Minister of Health, Dr. Dereje Duguma. In his remarks, Dr. Dereje stressed, the importance of increased commitment and political leadership to prioritize Universal Health Coverage agenda in the national health sector plan and health in all policies, and also, reiterated the need for implementing accountability frameworks to track equity, especially to address those furthest behind the SDG goals.
Heads of Missions Visit the Institute of Foreign Affairs
On 23 January 2024, Heads of Ethiopian Diplomatic and Consular Missions overseas, who have gathered in Addis Ababa for the annual retreat, visited the Institute of Foreign Affairs (IFA), an affiliated institution of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia.
During a discussion session organized as part of the visit, State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mesganu Arga, remarked that the think tank plays a crucial role in helping bring about an institutional shift towards a foreign policy implementation guided by research and development, continued capacity development of foreign service personnel, and projection of Ethiopia’s positive image in tandem with championing the strategic interests of Ethiopia, in particular.
He also called upon the ambassadors to solicit practical support from fellow think tanks in the respective countries they are based in to further strengthen IFA’s executive capabilities.
At the IFA, the envoys were given a brief highlight and tour of the facilities by the Executive Director of the Institute, Jafar Bedru.
A veteran researcher and current Director General of the Diplomatic Think Tank at the Institute, Melaku Mulualem, also made a presentation on the history, current standing and future trajectory of the institution.
Director General for African Affairs at the Institute, Dr. Wuhibegzer Ferede, provided a brief summary of potential areas of cooperation, including research and development, capacity building, knowledge management and facilitating policy discussions, among others.
Afterwards, the envoys reflected on ways of further strengthening the capacity of the institute through collaboration with similar entities and key takeaways from their visit.
IFA is an independent foreign policy research institution affiliated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs designed to foster diplomatic excellence through research, policy dialogues, and career advancement in the country’s foreign service.
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