Nat’l Dialogue Very Important to End Conflicts in Ethiopia, Says Danish Ambassador

Addis Ababa May 25/2022/ENA/ The establishment of the National Dialogue Commission and the reconciliation process is very important for Ethiopia to end some of the conflicts in the country, Danish Ambassador Kira Smith Sindbjerg said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Denmark's Ambassador to Ethiopia Sindbjerg said her country has been a strong supporter of dialogue.

“The national dialogue and the launch of the National Dialogue Commission is (therefore) something we see as very important for Ethiopia to end some of the conflicts in Ethiopia.”

The ambassador, who she recently had the opportunity to meet the commissioners, stated that  it was very good to see them in person and hear their views. They represent many different areas of the Ethiopian society and “I think that's very important for such an inclusive dialogue.”

She further expressed her hope that the National Dialogue Commission will keep on communicating about their work and be inclusive as well as transparent not only to the international community but also to the people of Ethiopia because this is a crucial process for the country to come to peace with itself and its people.

Commenting about the humanitarian access to the northern part of the country, Ambassador Sindbjerg said “we are very pleased to see that there are now many more trucks going directly to the Afar corridor into the Tigray region.”

The government is cooperating with the UN organizations and Afar administration to make sure that the people of Tigray receive humanitarian aid, she added.

Still, the ambassador pointed out the need for more trucks and convoys with humanitarian aid to go into the northern parts of Ethiopia.

Moreover, the ambassador elaborated that the Danish government has been supporting the government of Ethiopia in various areas, including providing humanitarian assistance.

Ambassador Sindbjerg, who recalled the recent visit of Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Flemming Møller Mortensen, revealed that the ministry confirmed that Denmark will still be in Ethiopia and support the people of Ethiopia.

“Our minister for Development Cooperation visited Gode in the Somali region and he was very touched to see the drought affected areas. This is something that we will continue to support, both the immediate needs of the people through humanitarian aid and also the more longstanding needs and the resilience work that so far our partners are doing in that region.”

After the minister returned Copenhagen with the things he had seen in Ethiopia, Denmark has made a new pledge of funding to humanitarian partners about 20 million USD to the Horn of Africa countries, she stated.

According to the ambassador, the pledged fund will support not only the drought victims but also some of the activities such as anticipatory actions that were already there before the drought came.

“I think it is important that we both support the immediate needs, but that would also support long term development needs in the country.”

Sindbjerg finally underscored that “Denmark is here to support the people of Ethiopia. We hope to strengthen our relationships but what we are looking at are three different baskets, and of how we can fully re-engage.”

First of all is the need for political dialogue, and peace has to be sustained. Secondly, humanitarian access needs to be full and unhindered; and thirdly, there should be accountability for human rights violations.

 “ If these three baskets continue to go in the right direction, I hope that we can work ever closer with the Ethiopian government, ” the ambassador concluded.