Addis Ababa April 26/2024 (ENA) The 16th Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) of mid-term review between Ethiopia and Djibouti has concluded, with the two countries reaching agreements on various areas of mutual interest. The relationship between Ethiopia and Djibouti is very strong that is built on a number of areas including people to people. After welcoming Djibouti’s President Ismaïl Omar Guellé, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed once said “the ties between our two nations are historical and broad-based. It is not only neighborly ties but familial.” The two countries have now been working to enhance their relations by building various infrastructures that would help them cement their partnership. The Joint Ministerial Commission meeting is one of the ways in which the countries elevate their ties. The Ethiopian delegation led by the Minister of Transport and Logistics, Alemu Sime participated at the 16th Joint Ministerial Commission mid-term review meeting. The Minister chaired the two day meeting held in Djibouti with his Djibouti counterpart, Hassan Houmed Ibrahim. The meeting focused on the comprehensive cooperation frameworks of the two countries, investment and illegal border trade, illegal human trafficking, transport and logistics sectors, especially the implementation of the construction of the Dekil-Galafi road. They also had a deep discussion about the efforts being made to address the bottlenecks in the port and transit between the two countries and the customs service provision and the responses received. Based on this, technical committees were formed to improve the port and transit services, customs protocol and multimodal agreements that have already been signed between the countries. At the conclusion of the meeting, Ethiopian Minister of Transport and Logistics Alemu Sime said that Ethiopia and Djibouti have a long standing relationship in multifaceted spheres. This two day-meeting was held in a way that reflected this historical friendship. He expressed his confidence that the relevant government institutions from both parties will meet and discuss the agendas that have been discussed and agreed upon during the meeting and will carry out the necessary tasks. He stressed special attention should be paid to logistics and port in working with collaboration. Minister of Infrastructure and Equipment of Djibouti, Hassan Houmed Ibrahim said on his part that the two-day meeting was held in a good spirit stressing the contribution of such forums to strengthen the bilateral relations between Ethiopia and Djibouti. Ethiopia’s long-term aspiration is to realize shared development with its neighbors; as it is vividly demonstrated with its sisterly country Djibouti through infrastructures such as railway, potable water, energy, people-to-people and cultural exchange. Hence, the country is exerting its utmost contribution to enhance mutual development among communities of its neighbors with similar identities by even sharing from its meager resources. Ethiopia is committed to providing its neighbors with infrastructure options with a view to help them expedite their respective development; Djibouti and Ethiopia will benefit from enhanced community and infrastructure connectivity to promote mutual development and prosperity.

Addis Ababa April 26/2024 (ENA) Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met Mark Suzman, CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), and his team today. The premier posted on social media page: "BMGF’s vital support in agriculture, health, nutrition, inclusive financial systems and other areas is invaluable to Ethiopia's development. We are looking forward to strengthened partnerships ahead and other areas of cooperation."

Addis Ababa April 26/2024 (ENA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed that Ethiopia is working hard to become member of BRICS' New Development Bank. Spokesperson of the Ministry Nebiyu Tedla, gave a weekly press conference on the nation’s diplomatic activities that were carried out over the week. The spokesperson recalled that a delegation led by State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mesganu Arga participated in the consultation of BRICS member countries held in Moscow, Russia. Nebiyu explained that Ethiopia has joined BRICS, the emerging global bloc to protect its national interests and navigate alternative benefits in the financial and related matters. As part of Ethiopia’s endeavor to maximize its gain from the international organizations like BRICS, he revealed the ongoing efforts being made to become a member of the New Development Bank. On other hand, the spokesperson elaborated Foreign Minister Taye Atske Selassie held discussion with Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) on ways of strengthening multifaceted partnership and priorities between Ethiopia and the UN. He further mentioned that Ethiopia is preparing to successfully host the preparatory conference of the 4th UN International Conference on financing for development in July 2024. Additionally, Nebiyu birdied the media about Ethio-Slovenia political consultation held in Addis Ababa. The consultation was aimed at evaluating the status of existing relations, consulting on further enhancing the bilateral relations of the two countries and exchanging views on current regional, continental, and global issues of common interest. He added that the Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba's visit to Addis Ababa was successful. The Prime Minister held discussions with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to work together on peace and stability, human resource exchange and other areas of cooperation, he pointed out.  

Addis Ababa April 26/2024 (ENA)The African Leadership Excellence Academy (AFLEX) and China's Academy for International Business Officials (AIBO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today. AFLEX President Zadig Abraha and AIBO President Sun Zhonghe signed the agreement. The agreement which is expected to quickly take effect after the signing paves the way for increased collaboration in leadership development and enable AFLEX to become China's training base for Africans. It also establishes a framework for the two institutions to share information, knowledge, and best practices in leadership training. Zadig said on the occasion that the agreement is instrumental in fostering knowledge exchange and experience sharing between the two institutions. We envision AFLEX becoming a key training base for African leaders in China-related fields, Zadig revealled, adding this will have various academic and economic benefits especially for Ethiopia. “This is also another demonstration of the Ethio-China strategic partnership and cooperation that will catalyze overall bilateral relations,” he added. AIBO, also known as the Training Center of the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) of China, holds a unique position. As the only educational institution directly affiliated with China's MOFCOM, AIBO plays a vital role in shaping international trade and economic cooperation initiatives, Zadig noted. AIBO President stressed the MoU's potential to strengthen strategic academic and economic partnerships between Ethiopia and China. The agreement represents a critical step towards collaboration between our leadership institutions, he stated. This partnership between AFLEX and AIBO is expected to provide African leaders with enhanced access to China-focused leadership training programs, fostering a deeper understanding of the economic landscape between the two countries and with Africa. With its focus on leadership excellence, AFLEX is well-positioned to leverage AIBO's expertise and create a bridge for future generations of Ethiopian and African leaders to navigate evolving issues.  

In a statement the National Intelligence and Security Council of Ethiopia issued recently, it emphasized the imperatives of the processes of the National Dialogue and Transitional Justice Policy which the country has embarked on rectifying shortfalls inherited from past history. This article focuses on the highlights of national dialogue. The change of political power in Ethiopia in 2018 ushered in a great deal of democratic space for the people of the country. The incumbent government has been taking various series of measures to build strong and viable institutions vital for the transformation of the democratic system of the country. Right from the outset, the government underlined that aggressive socioeconomic and political transformation was imperative to take Ethiopia into a new heights. In its long history of statehood, Ethiopia lacked the experience of settling political differences, disagreements and conflicts in a legal and peaceful manner through discussions and dialogues, the statement recalled. Accordingly, amendments were made to existing laws and policies that were bottlenecks for the democratic system by engaging independent experts during the first two or three years of office. All these measures were made to expedite the nation building process by creating an enabling environment for the public and stakeholders’ wider engagement in all aspects of the country’s endeavors. The council noted that the country experienced rampant resentments and distrust perpetuated over the past several decades among the various sections of the society coupled with the interests of individuals and groups that operated in the name of political party, fueling different forms of conflict and instability in the country. This is mainly attributed to the weak democratic culture that the country experienced in its history in resolving political disputes, arguments, and conflicts through peaceful talks and dialogues. The political culture in our nation has been shaped by the ambitions of individuals who have taken over positions of authority through coercion and have continued to impose their will by having complete control over everything available to them until they are removed by force. In response to this challenging situation, the country has conducted extensive processes to hold the first ever inclusive national dialogue that involves all segments of the society with a view to resolving centuries old predicaments that the country is facing, heal resentments and wounds caused during the heinous acts of previous political systems. The reformist government has been reiterating its full support and commitment to the successful conduct of the inclusive dialogue that aims at correcting major fault lines paving the way for creating consensus on basic national issues to the 120 million peoples. The incumbent government has demonstrated the emergence of a new political culture through a national election that showed the desires of the people and formed a government that is based on the will of the peoples. Moreover, the government has demonstrated that this nation is common home for the citizenry. To this effect, the government engaged leaders and members of other political parties into the state nomenclature, which is a new political departure in the history of Ethiopia. Towards rectifying rampant mistakes inherited from the past, the government initiated the establishment of an independent National Dialogue Commission with 11 commissioners who have proven scholarly independence, impartiality and enthusiasm to see a peaceful, democratic and prosperous Ethiopia. The commissioners of the National Dialogue, who were appointed to serve their country, are of high caliber and rich experience. The law has empowered them with extensive power to conduct their duties of coordinating and conducting an inclusive national dialogue. They have now charted out extensive outlines on how the inclusive dialogue should be conducted by consulting pertinent stakeholders. Accordingly, the process of identifying candidates, who would participate in the national dialogue in 10 regional states and two city administrations and districts have been completed. Meticulous and painstaking tasks have been accomplished in this regard. It has also engaged communities at all levels. This strategy has considered the public who are the owners of the process as the epicenter of the entire deliberation.The process in the dialogue including the preparation of agendas was not done only from top to bottom but has also initiated idea generation for discussion and agendas were suggested to the higher bodies of the commission It is expected that the commission will commence dialogue in regional levels within few weeks. It is also expected to finalize identification of participants shortly in areas where identification of participants have not yet conducted. Thus far, some 12,294 participants have been identified from 679 districts, that would participate in the process, have already been identified.