UK Ready to Support PM Abiy’s Reform Ambassador Moorehead

Addis Ababa   November 11/2018 United Kingdom expressed its readiness to support Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s broad reforms, especially on the economic and facilitating economic cooperation between Ethiopia and Eritrea. In an exclusive interview with ENA, UK Ambassador to Ethiopia, Susanna Moorehead said Ethiopia is UK’s largest bilateral development project recipient in Africa. Lauding the recent peace accord reached to normalize relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea, she stressed “we now really need to work hard to invest in and build the peace.” For this to happen, Moorehead said wide range of cooperation is crucial and added, “One of the ways we are doing that is to get much more economic cooperation going between Ethiopia and Eritrea. And we stand ready to help the Prime Minister does that.” The ambassador commended the comprehensive reforms undertaken by Premier Abiy and reaffirmed its government’s support. “He is already doing a huge amount of support for Prime Minister Abiy’s reforms on the economic side, education and range of other human development programs and we stand ready to help him in his reform agenda,” the ambassador noted. Furthermore, she said Ethiopia, the largest peacekeepers contributor in the world, is playing significant role in improving the quality of peacekeeping. Ambassador Moorehead said “Ethiopia is improving peacekeepers capability to keep the peace and above all to protect civilians.” “We are extraordinarily grateful for what Ethiopia does in improving not just the quantity of peacekeeping but the quality. So one of the things that we work very closely on peacekeeper zone is to ensure there is no sexually based violence … for peacekeepers really do what they are supposed to do,” she pointed out. On the top of capacitating the Ethiopian Peace and Security Training Center, UK is providing support that aims at brining better peacekeeping and peacemaking in the Horn of Africa, she explained. Speaking of the Remembrance Sunday, which is the centenary of the armistice that signaled the end of WWI 100 years ago, held in Gulele Cemetery today Ambassador Moorehead stressed the need to try countries reach agreement on differences by any means other than war and promote peace. “It remains a constant struggle to fight for peace and you have to fight for peace,” she said, adding that “so there is still a long way to go.” However, she pointed “we have not managed to maintain peace throughout the world in the last 100 years, but I think today we need to redouble our efforts to try and do so.” Over the centuries, Ethiopia and UK have enjoyed close economic, diplomatic and cultural relations. UK was among the first countries to open embassy in Addis Ababa, while Ethiopia was the first African country to establish an embassy in London.