Trade Is Moving Ethiopia Forward

Old wisdom was that foreign aid was a great strategy to help move Africa forward. This seems to have changed. Trade is the new foreign aid to the continent, one blessed with young population, ample resources and a better investment environment.

Ethiopia, once a place for the world's pity, is now transforming itself to an investment hub. That is a good thing. There are many foreign investors venturing in to the country looking for investment opportunities, complementing the diaspora and the locals that are taking advantage of a better investment environment in the country.

The foreign investors. The Indians and textiles. The Japanese and road construction. The Europeans and fresh-cut flowers. The Chinese and mega-building construction -- including airports and air technology. The Turks and the railroads linking the country from coast to coast.

Africa is surely moving in the right direction.

The contribution of the Turkish industry, in particular Yapi Merkezi, was recently noted and celebrated by the Turkish Exporters Assembly in Addis Ababa earlier this month. They are doing important work in Ethiopia.

It has been involved in the construction of Awash, in particular the Kombolcha and Hara Gebaya Railway, and employs more than 4,500 people in Ethiopia alone. The inception of the railway system was celebrated two years ago in the presence of Ethiopia's prime minister, Haile Mariam Desalegn.

These are good developments in a continent that is seeing brighter days.

This was the first time Yapi Merkezi had undertaken such a mega project in Africa, though it had taken similar projects in Dubai, Istanbul, Ankara and Casablanca. The Ethiopian ambassador in Turkey, Ayalew Gobezi, publicly acknowledged how Turkey is an agent of change and progress in the continent.

In bestowing the honour, the assembly noted the 52-year-old company's "significant contributions in knowledge and technology transfer to Ethiopia." The project is valued at $1.7 billion and it is 400km long. It is to complement Ethiopia's desire to fulfill its strategic vision of Growth and Transformation Plan.

This is to be a joint project of the Ethiopian Railway Corporation, funded by Turkish EX-IM Bank and Credit Suisse and the government of Ethiopia. The long-term vision of the project is to help transform Ethiopia's agriculture sector, connecting the nation's agricultural producers in the northern and central regions and to port facilities.

The company was also recently awarded with a major contract to help transform theDar es Salaam - Morogoro Railway this week. This is to build the fastest train in the region, costing just over US$1 billion. It is said to be about 1,300km long and will connect Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Tanzania, and provide access to the Indian Ocean from East Africa. This is expected to help promote exchanges of goods move faster and make it easier to do business among the countries.

These are good developments in a continent that is seeing brighter days, despite noted challenges and difficulties.

U.S. Embassy Warns Ethiopian Students Of Visa Fraud

Embassy in Ethiopia on Tuesday warned Ethiopian students wanting to travel to the U.S. of the dangers of visa fraud.

The Embassy didn’t specify the reasons for the notice, but it comes months after another statement dismissing speculation that visa rules for Ethiopians will be tightened.

Though Ethiopia was not one of the seven countries placed under the executive travel ban of the administration of U.S. President Donald trump last January, the ban nevertheless caused concern.

Every year thousands of Ethiopians travel to the U.S. for resettlement, education or family visits.

Although there are no known statistics of number of Ethiopians and people of Ethiopian origin living in the U.S., the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia estimates it to be in upwards of half a million.

With Ethiopia bordering by Sudan and Somalia which were put on the travel ban and refugees from both countries using the U.S. embassy in Ethiopia for visa applications Ethiopian visa applicants feared they would be unwittingly included in the ban.

READ: Ghana Govt deletes 50,000 phantom personnel from its payroll

During the January executive travel ban several dozen people mainly from Somalia, Sudan and Yemen which use Ethiopia as a transit were temporarily stranded at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

The travel ban first issued in late January was suspended by a judge, although there was a second failed effort to reinstate the ban on six of the seven countries again blocked in the courts.

With the suspension of the travel ban, the stranded passengers were able to leave the airport for their final destinations. Read more here

Ethiopia would never harm the interests of the Egyptian people, FM Gebeyehu says in Cairo

Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu meets with Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and counterpart Sameh Shoukry (Photo Courtesy of Egypt's Presidency)

The Ethiopian Foreign minister also met Wednesday with Egypt's President Sisi who stressed that Cairo does not interfere in other countries' domestic affairs and does not conspire against them

Addis Ababa will never harm the Egyptian people and their interests, Ethiopia's Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu said Wednesday during a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry in Cairo.

Ahead of the press conference after his arrival in Egypt, Gebeyehu met with Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi who stressed that Egypt does not interfere in other countries' domestic affairs and does not conspire against them. 

At the press conference, Gebeyehu said he came to deliver a message to Egyptians that his country was not seeking to cause suffering to the Egyptian people, in reference to Ethiopia's construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam on the Nile river.

"We will not harm the Egyptian people, but they should also help us in making use of our natural resources," he said.

Gebeyehu described both nations as connected "throughout history and the Nile River," addressing Shoukry as his "brother."

"I am here today to assure the Egyptian people that we must work together to accomplish our goals," he said.

The Ethiopian minister said that he discussed bilateral relations with the Egyptian president and foreign minister "honestly."

"We have to work very closely in the future with consultations on all issues," he said, adding that El-Sisi described the relationship as an important one that should be improved.

Shoukry said that the discussions were characterised by a "keenness [to boost] the relationship, with further dialogue on the necessity of maintaining it."

The Egyptian foreign minister added that the "transparent and honest" discussions were intended to promote the best interests of both nations.

According to Shoukry, the two countries' officials will be meeting and holding talks every two months to work on improving relations. He added that El-Sisi expressed hopes for Cairo to host a joint high committee meeting soon, with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in attendance.

The first-ever visit by FM Gebeyehu to Cairo comes amid reports of renewed tensions between Cairo and Addis Ababa over the past months, with back-and-forth accusations of interference in one another's domestic affairs and conspiracies against each other involving other foreign countries lodged from both sides. 

Cairo has said it fears the construction of the Renaissance Dam, which has not been completed yet, will negatively affect Egypt's Nile water share.

However, Addis Ababa maintains that the dam project, which Ethiopia says it needs to generate electricity, will not harm downstream countries.

In September 2016, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan signed final contracts to implement long-awaited technical studies on the potential impact of the dam on downstream countries. Read more here

Cairo to host tripartite meeting with Ethiopia, Sudan on Renaissance Dam impact studies

Cairo is set to host a tripartite meeting between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia on the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) next week to discuss initial reports by consultancy firms tasked with assessing the possible impact of the dam on downstream countries, the spokesman of the Egyptian foreign ministry told Ahram Online on Thursday.

The Egyptian irrigation ministry spokesman was not available for comment on the details of what will be discussed in the committee's meetings.

The meeting would come few days after a visit by Ethiopian Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu to Egypt, where he met with Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and foreign minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss bilateral relations.

Gebeyehu affirmed that his visit comes as an assurance to Egyptians that Addis Ababa would never harm the Egyptian people and their interests, in reference to Ethiopia's construction of the GERD on the River Nile.

Officials from the two countries have agreed to hold talks every two months to work on improving relations, with El-Sisi expressing hopes to the Ethiopian minister for Cairo to host a joint high committee meeting soon, with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn in attendance.

In late 2016, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia signed the final contracts for the long-awaited impact studies with French consultancy firms BRL and Artelia, as well as British law firm Corbett, which will carry out studies on the potential impact of the on the flow of the Nile.

The studies by the French firms, expected to take 11 months from their start date in late 2016, will include the managing of water and hydroelectric resources as well as an assessment of the cross-border environmental, social and economic impact of the mega project.

Cairo has expressed concerns that the construction of the Renaissance Dam, which is more than halfway complete, could negatively affect Egypt's share of Nile water.

Addis Ababa, however, has maintained that the dam project, which Ethiopia says is vital for generating electricity, will not harm downstream countries. Read more here

Ethiopia adopts 2016 protest report, 'harsh' security officers to be prosecuted

The House of People’s Representatives (HPR) – the Ethiopian parliament – has approved recommendations surrounding protest deaths as presented by the country’s rights commission’s recent report.

The Ethiopia Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on Tuesday submitted its report on the Amhara and Oromia protests that threatened the security of the country last year.

The main recommendation which the HPR backed was for ‘members of the security forces who used excessive force in the unrest to face justice,’ the state-owned FBCreported.

Other areas the legislators touched on included the need to rehabilitate persons displaced by the events and to prosecute all persons and institutions who took part in the unrest.

The parliament also decided that two parties – Blue Party and the Oromo Federalist Congress – be held responsible for playing ‘unsettling roles’ in violence activities in the town of Bahir Dar and Oromia regional state.

The Horn of Africa nation imposed a six-month state-of-emergency to help quell the protests. The EHRC said the total number of casualties – protesters and security officials – stood at 669, a figure that activists dispute.

Addis Ababa flatly refused to open its doors to independent investigators from the United Nations and the European Union. The Premier Hailemariam Desalegn has insisted that internal mechanisms were capable of probing the unrest. Read more here