Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Shared best wishes to fellow Africans on his statement on the Occasion of the 60th African Day
Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia H.E. Abiy Ahmed (PhD) has called for Unity amongst Africans in a statement issued on the 25th of May 2023, marking the establishment of the then Organization of African Unity (OAU); the Present-day African Union back in May 25, 1963.
The Prime Minister’s Statement in full is read as follows:
“Sixty years ago on this very date, Addis Ababa was host to a historic event that would shape the course of our continent. 32 Heads of State and Government of independent African nations converged in our capital to sign the Charter that would create the Organization of African Unity.
During this first Organization of African Unity Summit, His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie declared, “We stand today on the stage of world affairs, before the audience of world opinion. We have come together to assert our role in the direction of world affairs and to discharge our duty to the great continent whose two hundred and fifty million people we lead.”
Sixty years later, Africa is the second most populous continent with an estimated population upwards of 1.4 billion people. It is expected that by 2050 more than half of the global population growth will occur in our continent. Paying attention to Africa means paying attention to a continent that by 2050 will be home to one in four humankinds. This is indeed an opportunity we must harness”, PM Abiy said.
“President Kwame Nkrumah had rightly pointed to this opportunity during his remarks sixty years ago, whereupon he reiterated the great material and natural wealth our continent possessed and the necessity of its growing population “to the economic capitalization and profitability of modern productive methods and techniques,” to effectively utilize our wealth.
Today, our continent and our African Union is 55 members strong and is fast becoming a critical voice in the global arena. We have come a long way in promoting and defending an African common position on issues of interest to our continent and our people. Yet much remains in realizing the aspirations of our forefathers in the founding Charter and that of our own in our Agenda 2063.”
In particular, were a common theme that the Founding Fathers of the OAU proclaimed leading up to its formation and emphasized thereafter.
“The global state of affairs sixty years ago that triggered the formation of the OAU may have shifted. The complex world we find ourselves in today and the aspirations we carry as Africans summon us to further accelerate our unified positions.
Can we yet proclaim we are free when our people are still in the grips of poverty and our systems are shackled by corruption, ineptness and indifference? Can we yet assert independence while we seek beyond ourselves and our continental borders to deliver us from the challenges we are faced with?
Undeniably, our continent and each of our countries possess great natural and material wealth that lays abundantly bare for us to catalyze our continent to prosperity.
We must continue unearthing the potential of our people and enable them to transform our continent into the Africa We Want by fighting corruption, creating conducive environments for local and international investments and by awakening the service delivery potential of our bureaucracies.
As African nations blessed with natural bounty, we must mobilize the productive capacities and inventiveness of our youth in agriculture, industry and technology. Africa can and must be able to feed itself.
Ethiopia is clear evidence of this sheer will for self-sustenance that has seen our agriculture sector productivity expand in farmed land and output. The natural and man-made disasters and challenges that we have been confronted with for the past couple of years have not deterred us from progress, driven by a spirit of African resilience. We are committed to reshaping the narrative about Ethiopia and through it that of Africa”, the Prime Minister emphasized
“I have shared before that narratives shape our destiny. What we believe we are capable of, we thus become. For a long time now, we have as Africans accepted a narrative about ourselves that has not been crafted by us.
This needs to change in two critical ways. Firstly, through adequate representation and permanent seat at the UN Security Council and proportionate representation at the G7 and G20.
And secondly, through materializing our African Union Continental Media House.
In an increasingly complex, dynamic and fast changing global order, unity is no more a catchphrase but a means of survival.”
I urged all fellow African leaders and peoples to “heed the call of unity declared by our great forefathers as we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Organization for African Unity!”
Ethiopia Express its Dismay over Arab League’s Resolution on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia issued a statement on the recent resolution by the League of Arab States regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
The Statement is read as follows;
Ethiopia notes with dismay that the resolution adopted by the recent Summit of the League of Arab States echoed Egyptian hostile rhetoric regarding the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). This resolution is an affront to the African Union and its member states, which are working to bring an amicable negotiated resolution to the GERD matter. It runs contrary to the cherished and shared history of the people of Africa and the Arab world.
In 2015, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed an agreement on the Declaration of principles, which unambiguously provides that the construction of the dam shall continue in parallel to the negotiations on the guidelines and rules on the first filling and operation of the dam. The details of dam filling, including the volume and duration, have been agreed upon between the experts of the three countries. Throughout the process, going out of its way, Ethiopia has catered to the concerns of Egypt and Sudan. Ethiopia is and will continue to act respecting the principle of equitable and reasonable utilization of the waters of the Nile. Thus, the allegation that Ethiopia has taken unilateral measures is a deliberate mischaracterization. Egypt’s attempts to exert pressure on Ethiopia by using the Arab League forum represent its lack of good faith and violation of the agreement on the Declaration of Principles it concluded with Ethiopia and Sudan.
Ethiopia works closely with Sudan on all bilateral matters, including regarding the GERD. Ethiopia commends those Member States of the Arab League States that cautioned against Egypt’s attempts to escalate the matter. Ethiopia is confident that member of the League, particularly the member states of the African Union, will disassociate themselves from this resolution. They should prevent Egypt’s further misuse of the League that could potentially create a rift in the longstanding African-Arab friendship and historic relations.
Ethiopia calls upon Egypt to abandon its unlawful claim to the monopoly of the Nile River, citing defunct colonial agreements and a colonial- mentality-based position negotiate in good faith and reach a win-win outcome. Egypt should also act responsibly to lay the foundation for future generations of all the Nile River basin countries to nurture friendship and cooperation based on mutual respect.
DPM & FM Demeke Meets with Chinese Foreign Minister, Vice President in Beijing
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, Demeke Mekonnen met and discussed with Qin Gang, State Councilor and Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China as part of the former’s five-day official visit to China upon the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Qin Gang.
The Ethiopian Foreign Minister said “As a leading source of FDI, Ethiopia’s largest trading partner and development financer, China has a big role in Ethiopia’s future growth”. In addition he also underscored that “the Chinese people and government have proven to be reliable partners for the Horn of Africa and Africa as a whole”.
His Chinese counterpart, for his part, said “Ethiopia is a trusted partner, and his government is desirous to work with Ethiopia to achieve new progress. There is a new opportunity to enhance economic relations and deepen trade and investment ties in particular.”
The Chinese Foreign Minister also added China supports the reconstruction and rehabilitation projects in Ethiopia. The two delegations also agreed to work in tandem in multilateral forums to play a constructive role on regional and global matters of mutual concern.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister and the Chinese Foreign Minister officially inaugurated Ethiopia’s new embassy and residential building in Beijing on the 25th of May 2023 in the presence of Ethiopian State Minister of Foreign Affairs Birtukan Ayano, the former and current Ethiopian Ambassadors of the Embassy and other officials.
By the same token, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen conferred with the vice president of China Han Zheng in Beijing as both sides exchanged views on the age-old relationship between Ethiopia and China.
Vice president Han stated that China is ready to expand practical cooperation, promote People- to-People exchanges with Ethiopia. The vice President added China firmly supports Ethiopia in consolidating unity and peace and realizing economic recovery, Han said, adding that China stands ready to work with Ethiopia to jointly build a Belt and Road of high quality, expand practical cooperation, and promote people-to- people exchanges.
DPM and Foreign Minister Demeke on his part expressed his appreciation for China’s strong support for Ethiopia in restoring peace and responding to challenges, adding that Ethiopia is willing to actively participate in the implementation of China’s important initiatives. He also added that Ethiopia regards China as an important partner in achieving its independent development goals, hopes to continue to receive China’s support in areas including post-war reconstruction and economic development, and welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in Ethiopia.
Likewise, DPM and Foreign Minister Demeke met with the Director of China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) Luo Zhaohui in Beijing. Demeke commended China for providing Ethiopia both monetary and non- monetary assistance based on the principles of mutual benefits with no conditions on internal political issues. He further added that China is making valuable contributions to Ethiopia’s development endeavors in the spirit of South- South cooperation.
Director Luo Zhaohui said that Ethiopia is not only a great partner of China but also an influential country in Africa that deserves necessary support in areas such as agriculture, education, and riverside development, among others.
Ethiopia set to plant 6.5 bln. Seedlings in the coming Rainy Season
The Ethiopian Forestry Development announced that the country has finalized preparations to plant 6.5 billion seedlings in the coming rainy season.
As part of the Ethiopia’s continued Green Legacy Initiative that began in 2019 by the initiative of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), the nation has envisioned for planting 6.5 billion seedlings in the coming rainy season, among this 2.2 billion would aim at contributing to forest development and the balance would be for Agro-forestry stated the Green Legacy and Artificial Forestry Directorate of the Institute.
Amounting to 88% of the seedlings which planted last year have proliferated, he said adding that the ministry has made 719,000 hectares of land ready to plant seedlings in the forthcoming rainy season throughout the nation.
Over 3.4 billion seedlings were planted during the last rainy season. Ethiopia has also been sending seedlings to neighboring countries over the last three years.
EMBASSY WARNS AGAINST FRAUDULENT WEBSITES OFFERING ONLINE VISA SERVICES
The Ethiopian Government has launched an online visa application system to simplify and expedite the process of obtaining a visa for Ethiopia. However, the Embassy has recently become aware of some fraudulent websites that mimic the official e-Visa website and mislead applicants into believing that they are applying through the official channels.
The Ethiopian Government has not entered into any agreement with the owners of these websites, and therefore visa applications submitted or payments made through these websites will not be accepted.
The official website for the Ethiopian Online Visa service is https:/www.evisa.gov.et/ and no other website should be used for visa applications. Applicants are urged to submit their visa applications through the official e-Visa website only.
Please note that the following websites are not affiliated with the Ethiopian Government and should not be used for visa applications:
- ethiopiaevisa.com,
- ethiopiaonlinevisa.com
- evisaforethiopia.com, or any others.
To avoid any complications or delays in obtaining your visa for Ethiopia, the Embassy urges all applicants to submit their visa applications through the official e-Visa website only.
