BY YOHANES JEMANEH
As the adage goes “a friend in need is a friend indeed,” countries arguably identify their real partners at the time of difficulties. In this case, the past three years were testing times for Ethiopia that enabled the east African nation to distinguish its cohorts from adversaries.
Unwarranted political and economic pressure and interference was the major problem that challenged Ethiopia in line with the Tigray conflict and the second filling of the Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD).
When some western governments put economic pressure on Ethiopia in the name of humanitarian crisis, when these administrations stand by the side of Egypt in taking the development issue of GERD to be discussed by the UNSC, there were only a few nations that appeared to hold up Ethiopia’s reality. Among these nations that can be counted on the fingers of one hand is found the Russian Federation.
The Ethiopia-Russia relationship is historical and longstanding which withstood the test of time. Ethiopia attributes notable importance to the longstanding historical relations with the Russian Federation and appreciated Russia’s unwavering support to Ethiopia during difficult times of need, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Demeke Mekonnen said last week after he discussed with his Russian counterpart who was in Addis Ababa for a working visit.
The Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov had arrived in Addis on 26 July 2022 aimed at discussing with high-ranking Ethiopian officials on matters that will strengthen the ties between the two countries.
Lavrov’s visit to Ethiopia was fruitful and involved discussions with President Sahlework Zewde and Demeke Mekonnen on diversifying bilateral cooperation, particularly in trade, technology transfer, and agriculture and energy sectors.
After the meeting, Demeke briefed the press mentioning that the two ministers had a fruitful discussion that reflected the reality in which Ethiopia and the Russian Federation have shared values and interests in various areas. According to Demeke, trade, science and technology are the areas the countries have shown keenness to continue consolidating their relations.
Sergey Lavrov on his part described the Ethio-Russia relationships as delightful and effective while noting the need to hold a meeting of the joint commission of the two countries. He said that Russia would continue to work together with Ethiopia on international and regional spheres. He also expressed Russia’s readiness to support Africa’s proposal to hold a permanent seat at the UN Security Council.
Russia has decided to change Ethiopia’s debt owed to the former USSR, with a “Debt for Development package,” to help Ethiopia boost the technical capability of the Melkawakena Power plant and equip Balcha Hospital with modern medical equipment, it was learned.
The two nations agreed to hold a joint Ethiopia-Russia Commission meeting in the upcoming year, and sign new agreements, and to expedite the implementation of the already contracted agreements.
The longstanding bilateral partnership between Ethiopia and Russia needs to be reinforced, said President Sahlework during her consultation with Lavrov. The President and the Minister conversed on other international affairs.
Russia opposes a unipolar world based only on Western interests, Sergey Lavrov stated. He also mentioned the impact of the food crisis on Africa and promised his country’s commitment to work together to find a solution.
For Demeke, the visit of Lavrov was very timely. “We had really fruitful discussions. We talked about national, regional, and global topics. We brought up the present food crisis and associated concerns in order to work together to solve this problem,” he said. It needs to bear in mind that Russia and Ukraine have recently signed an agreement to open the door for food exportation to the global market in which several countries including Ethiopia will import products in demand.
In addition to the aforementioned areas of cooperation, Russia’s partnership with Ethiopia has been developing through time in the spheres of space, medicine and nuclear technology.
By the same token, Lavrov said that Russia values its relationship with Ethiopia, which has a long and rich history. Russia and Ethiopia have traditionally coinciding, and very close positions on key regional and international issues. “This concurrence is based on the strong commitment of both Russia and Ethiopia to international law, especially the principles of the United Nations Charter, in which respect for the sovereign equality of states is central,” Lavrov said.
Russia, which is one of the countries that support Ethiopia’s cause on the international arena, expressed its determination to continue supporting Ethiopia’s move to solve its internal issue on its own. The Russian News Agency (TASS) reported that Russia has reaffirmed support for the efforts made by the Ethiopian government to stabilize the domestic political situation.
“We confirmed our firm support for the government’s efforts to stabilize the situation and launch an inclusive national dialogue to address key issues on the national agenda,” Lavrov told TASS.
Russia has also confirmed its readiness to implement joint plans with Ethiopian partners in the sphere of military and technical cooperation. “We have good traditions in the sphere of military and technical cooperation. Today, we confirmed our readiness to implement new plans in this sphere, including taking into account the interests of our Ethiopian friends in ensuring their defensive capacity,” the Russian Foreign Minister said.
Lavrov also noted that Russia is ready to develop both bilateral humanitarian and cultural contacts and cooperation in the sphere of education with Ethiopia. “Russia is ready to continue providing assistance to Ethiopia in training its domestic specialists in various spheres,” he added.
Before he came to Ethiopia in his latest visit, the Russian foreign minister had earlier visited Egypt and the Republic of the Congo. His visit to Africa held ahead of the second Russia-Africa Summit that set to take place in 2023 which is expected to open new opportunities for increasing Moscow’s presence on the African continent.
The diplomatic visits and various bilateral summits are taking place between Russia and Africa aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two. In this regard, various platforms have been taking place.
“I am sure that we will develop new ideas by the second Russia-Africa Summit, which is due next year, and it will offer us new opportunities to increase Russian presence in Africa,” Russian Ambassador to Ethiopia Yevgeny Teryokhin told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
Ethiopia welcomed the start of preparations for the second Russia-Africa summit, scheduled for the middle of next year, and intends to cooperate closely with Russia on this issue.
“Ethiopia will cooperate closely with Russia in preparing the second Russia-Africa summit. We also agreed to continue working on issues of mutual interest and to develop mutually beneficial cooperation in various economic, scientific, cultural and other areas,” Demeke said.
Ethiopia is doing great in consolidating diplomatic ties with strategic international partners. In this case, the cooperation with Russia is commendable since the two nations have political, economic and social collaborations.
In modern history, Ethiopian students traveled to Moscow to pursue their higher education. During the reign of Haileselassie I, several Ethiopian literature scholars were nurtured in Russia. For this reason, Russian political culture and lifestyle have become familiar among Ethiopians since these Ethiopian scholars translated many of the Russian literary works into local languages.
Russia also shows its strong alliance to Ethiopia over the past two-three years when Ethiopia faced undue foreign pressure with regard to the Tigray conflict and the construction of GERD. Similarly, Ethiopia affirmed its support to Russia in various situations and is one of the viable means to Russia’s partnership with Africa as the nation is home to various regional, and continental organizations including AU.
Therefore, this cooperation must be consolidated as the two nations have intertwined political, economic and social interests. In this case, the diplomatic visit and the practical implementation of the signed agreements need to bear fruit. Moreover, the two nations need to work together to explore the upcoming Russia-Africa Summit to consolidate cooperation between Russia and Africa in line with their mutual benefits.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 2 AUGUST 2022
