Ethiopia and Japan have a long and friendly relations dating back to 1930s. Besides their international relations, the two nations share similar history. Both were nations with an ancient history which successfully repulsed European military advances to dominate them: Ethiopia at the Battle of Adwa, and Japan at the Battle of Tsushima, and as a result both nations considered each other potential allies prior to World War II, documents reveal. Regarding their prewar relation, both countries signed a Treaty of Friendship and Commerce in 1930.
The next year, Ethiopia reached out to her potential Asian ally when its Foreign Minister Heruy Welde Sellase visited Japan in 1931, dramatizing the possible benefits of economic and military of cooperation between the two countries. He was received very warmly by government officials and the people of Japan. In particular, Japanese ultra-nationalists, wishing to lead an alliance of the “colored peoples” of the world, believed that Ethiopia would play a crucial role in that alliance. Despite inopportune situations happened during World War II that created a disparity between the two nations, they have restored their relations post war.
In 1955 for instance, Japan and Ethiopia reestablished diplomatic ties. Such good relations have further been strengthened by the recent visits of high officials of the two countries in different times since 2013. Among these is a Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono’s state visit to Ethiopia held for two days on May 4 and 5, 2019. During his stay in Ethiopia, he held consultations with State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Markos Tekle. The consultations focused on deepening and strengthening bilateral development assistance between the two countries as well as cooperation on regional and international issues of mutual concern.
The two sides agreed to work together in promoting trade and investment and encouraging new areas of cooperation. State Minister Dr. Markos praised the long-standing relationship between Ethiopia and Japan, noting that Japan was a major development partners for Ethiopia, and thanking Japan for the development assistance it extended to Ethiopia. He also briefed Minister Kono on the political and economic reforms Ethiopia has embarked on under Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed leadership, including the widening of political space, the expansion of media freedom and institutional capacity building. Foreign Minister Kono expressed his pleasure in visiting Ethiopia and commended the politico-economic reforms Ethiopia is undertaking.
He said Japan fully supports Ethiopia’s efforts in sustaining the ongoing reforms. He stressed the importance of enhancing trade and investment ties between Ethiopia and Japan. This would lay a strong foundation for mutually shared benefits to flourish between their peoples. He strongly commended Ethiopia´s constructive role in maintaining peace and security in Africa in general and in the Horn of Africa in particular, including its contribution to peace-keeping forces for the region and more widely. He also appreciated the role of Ethiopia, as chair of IGAD, on the realization of the revitalized peace agreement in South Sudan last September. Minister Kono underlined Japan’s commitment to collaborate with Ethiopia to encourage peace and prosperity in the region.
Minister Kono also gave details of preparations underway regarding the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), whose seventh edition (TICAD-7) will take place in Yokohama from 28-30 August, 2019. He noted this would deliberate on private sector engagement to foster sustainable development of Africa in addition to focusing on peace and security matters. TICAD is a multilateral forum in which international agencies and financial institutions coordinate with African countries for the development of the continent. Dr. Markos appreciated TICAD as being the earliest initiative focused on advancing Africa’s development.
He expressed Ethiopia’s commitment to partner with the government of Japan in fostering TICAD and hoped the upcoming summit would provide a platform for Japanese investors to better understand the investment opportunities in Africa. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed met with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on 5 May, 2019. They discussed bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual concern. Minister Kono extended an invitation from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for Prime Minister Abiy to attend the TICAD-7 Summit and to make an official visit to Japan. He also expressed the Japanese Government’s support of Ethiopia’s domestic reforms and efforts to bring peace in the region, praising Prime Minister Abiy’s role in normalizing ties with neighboring Eritrea and underlining Japan’s willingness to help the two nations maintain peace.
Prime Minister Abiy, who praised TICAD’s role in Africa’s development, acknowledged Japan’s contribution to Ethiopia as a development partner and shared Minister Kono’s interest in continued cooperation in human capacity building, trade and investment. In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Minister Kono commented on private investment from Japanese companies to Ethiopia as well as other African countries lags behind compared to some other countries. He said that in order to encourage investment by Japanese companies, resolving such issues is crucial.
Japan will utilize tools such as Official Development Assistance (ODA) and provide support that is unique to Japan for African initiatives. In Ethiopia, Japan is providing assistance for improving productivity, key to the development of manufacturing. The Ethiopian Kaizen Institute (EKI), a center established to share Japanese “Kaizen (continuous improvement) spirit” with the people of Ethiopia, is one example of such assistance, he noted. Japan has been assisting Ethiopia on the area of agriculture and rural development, industrial promotion, infrastructure development and education through Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), it is learnt.
The Ethiopian Herald May 21/ 2019
BY BACHA ZEWDIE
