The dramatic restoration of peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea was taken as a landslide move in shaping the Horn of Africa. Later on, Ethiopia’s successful mediation of the Sudanese conflict between the military and the civilians has boosted the confidence of many Africans that they can manage their own challenges without external meddling like in the past.
In fact, the Medemer concept proposed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has an outstretched vision in this regard. As summarized by the renowned Ethiopian commentator Almariam, Medemer “is an idea that seeks to address the deficit in a new social, political, economic and foreign relations orientation. Medemer encourages working together for a shared vision towards a mutually beneficial goal. It builds on past successes while striving to correct mistakes in the effort to create a “more harmonious union.”
What happens in one Horn country affects the others. War in one country threatens the peace in the other. Peace and democracy in one country becomes an example of good governance for others. “Regional integration is another phrase for ‘Medemer’.”
The Horn region must “act in synergy” and Medemer becomes a “yarn weaving us together collectively” and help us achieve “collectively what we can only imagine individually”. In the meantime, we are at a time when Ethiopia is actively engaged in public diplomatic activities with other African countries.
In mid-February, we had a visiting Eritrean public and cultural troupe in Ethiopia. The cultural and musical concerts it has staged in some towns and cities of Ethiopia in general and the famous Eritrean songs in particular are still vivid in our memories.
Similarly, last week, a Sudanese public diplomacy delegation was in Addis. The Sudanese songs and cultural wearing are still fresh in our memories and we are still longing for more Sudanese music to come. The delegation has actually lauded Ethiopia’s contribution for the peace and stability of Sudan. Though that was the second time when Sudanese delegation visits Ethiopia that was long before the overhauling changes came into The Horn.
In a similar fashion, this week an Ethiopian public diplomacy delegation made visits to Uganda. We are sure that Ethiopians would also leave fresh memories among the Ugandan brothers and sisters there. The Ugandans have already pledged to do the same in Addis Ababa.
What a lovely time we are in! Things are changing for good. Those things were not easy to find in the past. Or safely to say, they were not as such frequent in the past. Public diplomacy is a means to engage with the peoples of other countries. After all, it is carried out in search of improved understanding and maximum cooperation and relationships.
From this, we need to appreciate the current trend of public diplomacy Ethiopia is undertaking. We also expect to see more and more diplomatic engagements that would toughen our relations with our beloved African brothers and sisters. That is how we can boost our understanding about one another and commit ourselves towards working for common goals of peace, development and prosperity. In a difficult region we are living in, choosing cooperation over competition is essential to our collective survival.
The Ethiopian Herald, November 29/2019
