Ethiopian Embassy News A Monthly Bulletin of the Ethiopian Embassy, Washington D.C. Year: IV Issue 05 November 2017

Transcription

1 Ethiopian Embassy News A Monthly Bulletin of the Ethiopian Embassy, Washington D.C. Year: IV Issue 05 November 2017 Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn with Ambassador Nikki Haley Contents US Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador Haley, visits Ethiopia... 1 Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu briefed Addis Ababa-based diplomats... 3 Renew LLC Held an Investment Portfolio Discussion Event at the Ethiopian Embassy... 4 Bidding farewell to H.E. Ambassador Girma Birru... 4 US Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador Haley, visits Ethiopia Ambassador Haley held meetings with Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn and AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, Minata Samate Cessouma on 23 October After her meetings, Ambassador Haley expressed the hope that this was the beginning of "a stronger relationship with the AU and our African partners." 1

2 Ambassador Haley's discussions with Prime Minister Hailemariam covered a number of issues, including further strengthening the bilateral cooperation between the US and Ethiopia and expanding economic cooperation between the two countries. Ambassador Haley underlined the importance of further improving operational issues to create a more conducive environment for economic cooperation. The Prime Minister mentioned a number of activities that were underway to improve Ethiopia's economic efforts and attract more FDI. Ambassador Haley commended the growth and development of Ethiopia. Their discussion also covered human rights and the importance of Ethiopian youth being involved in the ongoing economic developments. The main focus of their talks, however, was regional peace and security and particularly developments in South Sudan, as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They agreed on the importance of holding elections as well as the need to address the root causes of conflict. On South Sudan, Ambassador Haley and Prime Minister Hailemariam exchanged views on how to find a lasting solution to the conflict there. The Prime Minister gave the Ambassador a detailed account of what IGAD has been doing in the past month to revitalize the peace process, and made it clear that he appreciated US support for the Revitalization Forum. They agreed the importance of moving South Sudan's peace process forward with High- Level Revitalization Forum to revive the 2015 South Sudan Peace Agreement as soon as possible. They also underlined that solving the situation in South Sudan required sustained engagement and attention from the African Union and others in the region. Ambassador Haley thanked the Prime Minister for Ethiopia's leadership in continuing to receive refugees fleeing conflict in the region. At a joint press conference, Ambassador Haley said: "The U.S. very much sees Africa as the important part of the world. We see great opportunities in Africa. We see challenges in Africa. We want to support and help in those situations. But most importantly we want to see how we can partner together, whether that is through economic development, whether it is through strategic practices, whether it is through political solutions." Ambassador Haley said she hoped "that this is the beginning of what is going to be a stronger relationship with the AU and our African partners." The Ambassador further said: "We have always been a strong supporter of the AU and we have continued to give to the AU peace funds; we've continued to give bilaterally; we are going to continue to do all of those things. You will continue to see our support to health programs and many other things we have done in the past will continue. We are going to continue to look to the AU for guidance. The US was interested, she underlined, to work together with the AU and IGAD in order to bring lasting solutions to Somalia, and Commissioner Samate stressed her appreciation of continued US support for AMISOM, adding, "We need the support of all African partners, African Union partners and the international community, to support AMISOM". She said they had also discussed South Sudan and DRC and "We agreed to strengthen our relationship to support cooperation and to find solutions." Before travelling on to Juba, Ambassador Haley visited South Sudanese refugees in Gambella, on October 24, 2017 together with the US Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mike Raynor. Ambassador Haley praised Ethiopia's role in hosting one of the largest refugee populations in Africa and reiterated U.S. commitment to support those efforts. Ambassador Haley visiting South Sudanese refugees in Gambella 2

3 Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu briefed Addis Ababa-based diplomats on current issues Foreign Minister Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu, on 07 November 2017, updated Addis Ababa-based diplomats on the current Ethiopia situation, focusing on the recent clashes in Oromia and Somali Regional States, unrest in some parts of Oromia and the recent devaluation of Ethiopian birr. This was one of the regular Ministry of Foreign Affairs briefings for members of the diplomatic community who reside in the country. The Foreign Minister also said the government held series of discussions with residents of the affected areas, their community elders and religious leaders as well as the presidents of the regional states in which authorities urged them to work together on the basis of the Federal Constitution and resolve conflicts through dialogue. It was also stated that preparations were underway to organize a peace conference' soon in the city of Dire Dawa. Moreover, the government had also sent delegations to Djibouti, Kenya, Punt land, and Somaliland to provide detail accounts as to what happened. Dr. Workneh pointed out that the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission was now carrying out an investigation on the causes of any deaths and alleged abuses of human rights that had occurred in conflict areas. Once that investigation has been completed, the Government would take actions against perpetrators in accordance with all relevant laws. Regarding the issue of reform of the country's electoral process, Dr. Workneh referred to the productive talks under way between the country's national parties. He said a number of different proposals had been put forward by the ruling EPRDF and fifteen national opposition political parties aiming at creating a wider democratic space. Mention was made that they agreed to reform the country's electoral system and scrap the simple majority vote system. Under new electoral rules, Ethiopia will have a hybrid electoral system with 80% elected by simple majority vote and 20% by a proportional vote system. The parties also agreed to increase the number of federal parliamentary seats from the current 547 to 660 to accommodate the changes. Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu briefing Addis Ababa-based diplomats Referring to the causes of the unfortunate and regrettable clashes in Oromia and Somali Regional States, Dr. Workneh said that the violence was instigated by rent-seeking groups who wanted to take advantage of minor conflicts and the government is now working to neutralize the activities of those rent seeking groups along the border between the two regions. The Minister responded to questions raised from members of the diplomatic community. They commended the Government's deep commitment to respond swiftly to all challenges and its efforts to transform challenges into opportunities and use them as tools to hone the capacity of the country. 3

4 Renew LLC, an American Impact Investment Company, Held an Investment Portfolio Discussion Event at the Ethiopian Embassy On Saturday, 28 October 2017, Renew LLC a private equity impact investment and advisory company - held an investment promotion and portfolio discussion meeting with a network of impact investors. The meeting was held at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC and some 35 potential investors interested in investing in Ethiopia attended the event. They had engaging discussions on investment opportunities in Ethiopia, about selected local companies with high growth potential for investment, as well as the challenges, lessons learned and opportunities in managing companies in emerging markets, such as Ethiopia. Renew LLC manages and serves a global network of investors (Impact Angel Network - IAN), who seek to make both social impact and financial returns on their investments in Africa. The mission of Renew is to help investors make direct investments into promising local businesses in Ethiopia and other developing countries, and then growing those businesses into market leaders. RENEW s largest office is in Addis Ababa where it manages its investment operations. Bidding farewell to H.E. Ambassador Girma Birru A series of bidding farewell events were held for H.E. Ambassador Girma Birru who has served as Special Envoy, Ambassador Extra Ordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United States, Mexico and Jamaica since December His term officially ended on Nov 10, Amb. Girma played a significant role in strengthening the bilateral relations between Ethiopia and the United States, Mexico and Jamaica. 4

5 Pictures from Farewell event with the Diplomatic Community Pictures from Farewell event with the Embassy Staff Pictures from Farewell event with the Diaspora Community 5

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