President Omar Al-Bashir made a three-day official visit to Ethiopia on April 4-6,holding bilateral consultations with PrimeMinister Hailemariam Dessalegn and othersenior Ethiopian government officials. Dis-cussions covered a wide range of issuesof common interest, aiming to expand eco-nomic ties and deepen the historic relati-ons between the two neighbors. During thevisit, the Prime Minister also accompaniedPresident Omar Al-Bashir to the HawassaIndustrial Park, to the Kuraz Sugar Factoryand to other projects in the Southern Re-gional State. President Al-Bashir told themedia during his visit to the Hawassa Parkthat he observed Ethiopia's economicgrowth had brought tangible change in thelife of the people. The reason for this suc-cess, he said, was the stability and peacefor which Ethiopia was known in the re-gion.Both leaders underlined the need to furtherstrengthen the already excellent andstrong bilateral ties, the importance of en-hancing economic and infrastructural inte-gration, and cultural, trade and securitypartnerships as well as the way forward onhow to cooperate in areas like the powersector and in establishing a "Free Econo-mic Zone' which the two countries will do"very soon."

The Emir of the State of Qatar, SheikhTamim bin Hamad Al-Thani made a statevisit to Ethiopia on April 10-11, giving fullexpression to the need for expansion of in-depth and practical cooperation betweenQatar and Ethiopia. The two-day state visitreviewed the status and growth of the bila-teral relationship of the two countries, en-compassing all fields of cooperation in thelight of the new impetus and potential forthe promotion of an agenda of sustainabledevelopment and maintenance of regionalpeace and stability. Both sides also under-lined the importance of maintaining themomentum of frequent high-level visits toexpand the substance of Ethio-Qatar ties,grounded on mutual trust and joint deve-lopment.The Emir, who was appreciative of Ethio-pia's role in upholding peace and stabilityn the Horn of Africa within the IGAD plat-form, said the State of Qatar was ready tocooperate with Ethiopia in the fight againstterrorist elements in the region. SheikhTamim bin Hamad Al-Thani also noted Qa-tar's support for Ethiopia's developmentalactivities including infrastructural develop-ment. The Emir said his visit would help intheir endeavors to continue exploring newavenues of cooperation and to create newmechanisms to deal with issues of com-mon concern. He expressed the readinessof the State of Qatar to provide humanita-

rian assistance to drought victims in Ethio-pia, and to support the efforts of the go-vernment of Ethiopia in education, health,infrastructure and energy. He also expres-sed readiness to finance the establishmentof a specialized hospital for kidney treat-ment. Both sides agreed to strengtheneconomic cooperation and committedthemselves to make joint efforts to en-hance business-to-business ties, engagingboth the public and private sectors. Theyencouraged the private sectors of bothcountries to increase cooperation; and theEmir gave instructions to establish a loanportfolio for small and medium projectswith the aim of creating job opportunitiesfor the youth.

President Kagame and First Lady Jean-nette Kagame welcomed Prime MinisterHailemariam Dessalegn and First LadyRoman Tesfaye to Rwanda on April 27 atthe start of a three day state visit toRwanda. On arrival at Kigali InternationalAirport, the Prime Minister, accompaniedby a high-level delegation of ministers andofficials including State Minister for ForeignAffairs, Mrs. Hirut Zemene, was given ared carpet welcome and inspected a guardof honor mounted by the Rwandan De-fence Forces. After a state banquet hostedby president Kagame on Thursday, the

Ethiopian Embassy in Berlin – Monthly Newsletter Issue 04/2017

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ETHIO NEWSPoliticsSUDANESE PRESIDENT’SSTATE VISIT TO ETHIOPIA

Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir with Prime Minis-ter Hailemariam Desalegn Photo:mfa

EMIR OF QATAR’S STATEVISIT TO ETHIOPIA

PRIME MINISTER HAILE-MARIAM’S STATE VISIT TORWANDA

Prime Minister Hailemariam formally inaugurates thenew embassy in Kigali. Photo:mfa

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani with Prime MinisterHailemariam Desalegn Photo:mfa

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Prime Minister and President Kagame heldbilateral talks on Friday to discuss ways tofurther strengthen and deepen relationsbetween the two countries. The talks alsofocused on regional cooperation, trade andinvestment ties, and on ways the two nati-ons could learn from each other's experi-ence in peace and security. Following the bilateral discussions a num-ber of agreements which had been ear-marked at the 2nd Joint MinisterialCommission meeting were signed. TheCommission's meeting earlier in the weekwas held at the technical level involving ex-perts from both countries. During the mee-ting, the two sides discussed cooperationin the fields of education, tourism and mu-tual legal assistance. The Permanent Se-cretary at Rwanda's Ministry of ForeignAffairs and Cooperation, Claude Nikobi-sanzwe, said "During the meeting newareas of partnerships were agreed notablyin: education, tourism, mutual legal assis-tance and a framework to monitor imple-mentation of these areas was also put inplace". He said: "Cooperation betweenRwanda and Ethiopia remains strong andsignificant results have been achieved inthe areas of defense, aviation and Capa-city building among others, which conti-nues to benefit the people of our twocountries".During his visit, Prime Minister Hailema-riam also formally inaugurated the newlyopened Ethiopian Embassy in Kigali.

"Ethiopia is determined to expand bilateralrelations with Egypt", Foreign Minister Dr.

Workneh Gebeyehu emphasized on April19 during a joint press conference with hisEgyptian counterpart, Foreign MinisterSameh Shoukry. Dr. Workneh held talkswith Mr. Shoukry and met earlier with Pre-sident Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi. The President,who described the Ethio-Egyptian relati-onship as an important one that should befurther improved, noted that Egypt doesnot interfere in or conspire against domes-tic affairs of other nations.At the joint press conference, Dr. Worknehthanked the people and the government ofEgypt for the warm welcome and hospita-lity accorded to his delegation and took theopportunity to express deepest sympathiesof the government and the people of Ethio-pia to the people of Egypt over the loss ofinnocent lives following the recent terror at-tacks on Egyptian Coptic churches. Hesaid Ethiopia and Egypt are two nationswith a long history and unique civilization,adding that the two countries are bound to-gether through the longest river Nile. No-ting that the relationship between the twocountries has been improving over the lastthree years, Dr. Workneh emphasized onthe need to hold regular consultations andexchanges of visitsHe said he came to deliver a message toEgyptians that his country was not seekingto cause suffering to the Egyptian people."We will not harm the Egyptian people", hesaid, "but they should also help us in ma-king use of our natural resources," in refe-rence to the Grand Ethiopian GrandRenaissance Dam (GERD). Dr Worknehdescribed both nations as connected"throughout history and the Nile River," ad-ding "I am here today to assure the Egyp-tian people that we must work together toaccomplish our goals." Dr. Workneh toldhis Egyptian counterpart that his visit con-voyed the message of fraternity, solidarityand cooperation, one based on mutualtrust and interest between the peoples ofEthiopia and Egypt. Underlining that thepeople and the Government of Ethiopiaare committed to further deepen the histo-rical ties, Dr. Workneh noted Ethiopiawouldn't harm the interest of Egypt. Dr. Workneh said that he discussed bilate-ral relations with the Egyptian presidentand foreign minister "honestly," and Mr.

Shoukry said their discussions were cha-racterized by a "keenness [to boost] the re-lationship, with further dialogue on thenecessity of maintaining it." Foreign Minis-ter Sameh Shoukry described the talks as"transparent and honest," which he saidwas vital for Egypt and Ethiopia to promotethe best interests of the peoples of bothnations. He called for further dialogue onthe necessity of maintaining the relations-hip. He expressed Egypt's desire to furtherstrengthen its ties with Ethiopia in invest-ment, trade other sectors of engagement.The Egyptian foreign minister noted thatofficials from Egypt and Ethiopia wouldnow be meeting and holding talks everytwo months to work on improving relations.He also noted that President El-Sisi ex-pected that Prime Minister Hailemariamwould soon come to Cairo for a meeting ofthe two countries' Joint High-Level Com-mittee meeting.

The 6thTana High-level Forum on Securityin Africa was held on April 22-23 in BahirDar, the capital of the Amhara RegionalState Government, under the theme: "Na-tural Resource Governance in Africa".Every year, it brings together African lea-ders and stakeholders to engage and ex-plore African-led security solutions.Opening the forum, Prime Minister Haile-mariam Dessalegn underlined that asAfrica was endowed with a wide range ofnatural resources and their managementmattered, this theme, ‘Natural ResourceGovernance in Africa' is particularly fitting.

Ethiopian Embassy in Berlin – Monthly Newsletter Issue 04/2017

FOREIGN MINISTER DR.WORKNEH MEETS HISEGYPTIAN COUNTERPARTSHOUKRY IN CAIRO

6TH TANA HIGH-LEVELFORUM ON SECURITY INAFRICA IN BAHIR DAR

Minister Workneh Gebeyehu and Minister SamehShoukry Photo:mfa

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn holds the open-ing speech for the 6th Tana Forum Photo:mfa

Security

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Natural resource management and gover-nance was important because mismanage-ment so easily resulted in conflict andcontention. The Prime Minister said propergovernance of natural resources would helpAfrica to maximize the developmental be-nefits that should accrue from exploiting thecontinent's rich natural resources. Callingfor specific national policies to ally with ef-fective and proper management, he saidnatural resource governance should be go-verned by the right orientation, develop-mental orientation, for it to bear the requiredresults, make it sustainable, and allow it toserve as the necessary source of economictransformation and ‘leapfrogging'. He calledon African leaders, statesmen and policymakers to focus on transforming the politicaleconomy of the African continent as thebasis for a long-lasting solution to Africaneconomic and political economic problems.In the pursuit of transforming the continent'sagrarian economies to emerging industrialeconomies, the Prime Minister underlinedthe need to attach full weight to agriculture,and particularly to small holding farming. Atthe same time, encouraging leaders to worktowards economic leapfrogging, Prime Mi-nister Hailemariam noted the importance oftransforming Africa's economy from rent-seeking political ventures to effective deve-lopmental political economy.The Program Head for the African ConflictPrevention Program at the Institute for Stra-tegic Studies, Dr. Mehari Taddele Maru,summed up the key message of the discus-sions as the necessity to deliver on promi-ses and implement policies. This, of course,was the responsibility of African states. Itwas clear governance needed an institutio-nal framework, collaborative platforms andfinancial capability. Self-serving elites and arent-seeking political economy could turnnatural resources into a curse by restrictingthe developmental benefits of natural re-source management and governance. Pri-mary responsibility for good governanceresided in the state. Failure meant a lead-ership deficit, and a need for frank and opendialogue and the freedom to be critical whilebeing respectful and civil. Other speakers included former NigerianPresident, Olusegun Obasanjo, co-authorof "Making Africa Work: A hand Book for

Economic Success," with Greg Mills, the Di-rector of South Africa's Brenthurst Founda-tion, who described Ethiopia as one of thefew African countries doing things in theright direction. He called on other countriesto follow suit. He also encouraged Ethiopiato offer technical support to fellow Africannations. Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, senior ad-visor, Africa Economic Development PolicyInitiative, Nigeria, said that Ethiopia's policystability, clarity, continuity and political com-mitment was the secret to Ethiopia's econo-mic success, particularly in attractingforeign direct investment. With highly-admi-red policy autonomy, Ethiopia attested theimportance of proper management of re-sources in Africa through prudent policies.Salil Shetty, Secretary-General, AmnestyInternational, UK welcomed the way Ethio-pia linked security with human security, andwelcomed Prime Minister Hailemariam'sclear message about the strong link bet-ween natural resource management andhuman resource management.

The 59th meeting of the UN World TourismCommission for Africa and the High-levelMeeting on Chinese Outbound Tourism toAfrica were held in Addis Ababa on April 18-21. Attending were 37 African Ministers ofTourism and high level delegations fromWorld Tourism Commission member states,as well as representatives of the tourismand media industries and Dr. Taleb D. Rifai,Secretary General of the UN World TourismOrganization (UNWTO). During their visit,conference delegates visited the city ofGondar in the Amhara Regional State, thecapital of Ethiopia during the mid-17th to19th centuries, the residence of the Empe-ror Fasilidas (1632-1659) and his succes-sors. They visited the palaces and castlesin Gondar, as well as Debre Berhan Selas-sie church with its notable 17th centurypaintings and planted trees as a demons-tration of commitment to environmental pro-tection and climate change resilience.The palace complex in Gondar itself inclu-des the Castles of the Emperors Fasilidas,Iyasu I and Dawit, the Library and Chancel-

lery of Yohannis I, and the Banqueting Hallof Bakaffa as well as other buildings. Gon-dar is also home to famous monasteriesand churches including Debre Berhane Se-lassie, the Bath of Fasilidas and other re-mains in the immediate area, among themthe 18th century Palace of the EmpressMentuab and the church at Qusqam; and alittle further away, the Castle of Guzara andthe House of the Catholic Patriarch, datingto the early 17th century. In an interview Dr. Rifai, Secretary Generalof the UNWTO, said he was impressed bythe enormous variety of tourist destinationsthat characterized Ethiopia, and particularly,the different styles of the castles he hadseen in Gondar. Ethiopia, he said, with itsvarious different tangible and intangible he-ritage sites and its historic and cultural tou-rist destinations, was much more thanmerely the "the land of origins". He said inGondar there were the same kinds of stoneand building techniques, but "the styles arecompletely different. That is what really fas-cinates me." Dr. Rifai said: "I know you cancome up with the tag line ‘the land of ori-gins', but Ethiopia is by far more than this.It is a land that can accommodate its es-sence and souls that are beyond the world'sdescription." He added: "The branding exer-cise has not yet been finished." Describing Ethiopia as not only the land oforigin and diversity, but also a land of unity,where all aspects of life were unified underone umbrella, the Secretary-General said:"I think this visit completes my dictionaryand my vocabulary on the cultural aspectsof Ethiopia. The beauty of it is in the diver-sity within a unity. There is a remarkable spi-rit that unifies the whole place." It was histhird visit to Ethiopia, and Dr. Rifai said hewas impressed with the commitment andpolitical will that the Government was devo-ting to the effect of ensuring proper utiliza-tion of the country's tourism potential. Hesaid, "The most important and impressivedevelopment I saw is the maturity of the po-litical will and the belief in tourism today."He noted that Ethiopia had invested largelyin infrastructure development, and this,coupled with the thriving hotel service in-dustry, had the potential to generate morethan ten times the current tourist numbers.

Ethiopian Embassy in Berlin – Monthly Newsletter Issue 04/2017

“MUCH MORE THAN ‘LANDOF ORIGINS’ ”

Tourism