In expressing my views on the recent diplomatic successes Ethiopia has managed to attain, I thought to summarize the main raisons d’etre behind the best practices into four categories. The first is fundamental strategic reform in Ethiopia’s foreign relations effectively buttresses the core tool for the diplomatic scoreboard.
The second is quality institutional reform approach in managing diplomacy while the third factor is the professionalism among the diplomats in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs along with stakeholders in the government structure. The fourth most important factor is the reciprocity and harmony among different government institutions playing their part in concerted and meticulous style of negotiations on GERD.
My readers would hopefully agree with me on the fact that Ethiopia’s and presumably Africa’s successes in reclaiming the legitimate ownership of the negotiations on GERD right on African soil is the most conspicuous diplomatic achievement that Ethiopia has attained. The success indeed is a confirmation of treating African problems in Africa and in African way instead of shrewdly dragging the issue into a venue where it could never belong.
The success among other things indicates a victory of Pan Africanism over pan Arabic phantasmagoria and amplifies Egypt’s pendulum style swinging between both.
As the result of the reform program, Ethiopia has achieved diplomatic gains in at least eight areas of diplomacy which I would briefly enumerate. The reform program which was hailed among the major economic magnets of the world enabled Ethiopia to diplomatically secure more economic support in the form of soft loans and reduction in debt servicing payments and cancellation of debts. This in turn enabled Ethiopia to revive the major macroeconomic programs which was stalled due to the mismanagement and theft under the authors and leaders of revolutionary democracy in this country.
The meaningful diplomacy of peace with the neighboring countries with was heralded by the reformist leaders of the country enabled Ethiopia to release citizens who were languishing in the jails of neighboring countries and the Middle East and also ensured peaceful settlement of the crisis in Sudan. Ethiopia boldly made peace with Eretria and won a Nobel Peace Prize for Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed who also brokered peaceful settlement of dispute on maritime waters between Somalia and Kenya and for the first time in the history of the world, Ethiopia instituted the Ministry of Peace in contradistinction to the post war Ministry of War that was established right after the end of the war of resistance against Fascist Italy.
The advent of COVID-19 in Ethiopia ushered a new strategy in health diplomacy from which Ethiopia was able to secure resources from friendly countries and the WHO to fight off the virus. The skillful personal diplomacy launched by the Prime Minister with foreign leaders not only helped the nation to obtain the badly needed COVID-19 preventive medical accessories but has also become a source of urgent support for several African countries which were grappling with a wave of infections from the virus. Here it is also very important to underscore the special role played by the country’s national carrier, the Ethiopian Airlines which provided swift and quality logistics services across the world by transporting medical supplies and citizens of even advanced countries stranded by lock downs in many countries.
Ethiopia’s diplomatic successes have always been crowned with the spirit of pan Africanism from which other African countries could benefit. Despite its own shortfalls in medical supplies for the prevention and control of the pandemic, Ethiopia shared its medical supplies with Somalia with the notion that support for the prevention of the spread of the virus in a neighboring country is of no less importance compared to the battle against the virus in Ethiopia itself.
The success in the transfer of technology is also partially attributed to Ethiopia’s skillful diplomatic negotiations conducted to launch a communication satellite into orbit for securing vital data that could help to modernize the development programs in the country.
Targeted cultural and economic diplomacy was behind the recent prize winning completion at trade on coffee conducted with financial and marketing wins for coffee growers and marketers in Ethiopia.
Among other things, Ethiopia’s recent diplomatic successes emanated from adherences to the provisions of international laws and treaties in her dealings on issues of regional and global significance. Besides, Ethiopia conducts transparent and principled diplomacy free from any level of treachery or falsehood.
International partnership and cooperation between countries with different political systems and impartial approach to diplomatic negotiations is one of the major principles that contributed to Ethiopia’s successful diplomacy.
Ethiopia’s national interest has always been best served in promoting mutual benefits between countries and the construction GERD is a vivid indicator for this. Ethiopia stands out in safeguarding regional and global peace as a core objective of the foreign policy and diplomacy.
Indeed, the time tested diplomatic achievements of this country emanates from a genuine political will pursued by the reformist leadership.
The Ethiopian Herald July 28, 2020
BY SOLOMON DIBABA
