BY ADDISALEM MULAT
As Ethiopia cannot alone address humanitarian problems, the government has been working determinedly around the clock with various donors to expedite humanitarian assistance and fully implement the Pretoria peace deal.
In a similar vein, through the coordinated efforts of various institutions and partners, the federal government has been taking positive steps to ensure that humanitarian aid is provided without restriction for the conflict-affected communities in the northern part of the country.
The incumbent is indeed hell-bent on providing water, health, education; public services and rebuilding demolished infrastructures. In the course of the conflict, some discredited international media outlets had been fully preoccupied with disseminating bogus stories intending to drag through the mud the positive image of the country and hoodwink the wider international community.
Following the challenges that emanated from the misinformation campaign against the incumbent, the disgraced international media outlets had been untiringly distancing themselves from the self-evident truth by misleading facts and mystifying the global community.
In the aftermath of their heinous deeds, the country’s diplomatic relations with various nations in different parts of the country face some setbacks. In addition, the country was under huge pressure due to some sanctions.
In the same way, different groups have been making an effort to put unwarranted pressure on the country to twist its arm and overstep the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. However, after the signing of the peace accord Ethiopia’s diplomatic relations and the entire situation embarked on getting back on track.
In the recent past, foreign ministers of Germany, China and the UK paid visits to Ethiopia and pledged to support the country.
Last week, U.S. Foreign Secretary Anthony Blinken announced 331 Million USD in new humanitarian assistance for Ethiopia intending to deliver support to people affected and displaced by the conflict. Ethiopia has been playing a paramount role in smoothing the path of the delivery of humanitarian assistance and restoration of social infrastructure in the northern part of the country.
In the present circumstances, the federal government in close collaboration with a diverse range of organizations has been taking steps to ensure that humanitarian assistance is being delivered to the affected communities.
Other than that the federal government has sustained its endeavors to ensure that the displaced people have access to temporary shelters, and rehabilitation and provide other necessary support in collaboration with all stakeholders. In actual fact, apart from oiling the wheels of proving humanitarian assistance, the federal government has been fully engaged in expediting the restoration of essential infrastructure including electricity, banking and other related aspects.
In the aftermath of the enhanced efforts of Ethiopia’s diplomatic activities with various nations in various parts of the world, the rehabilitation endeavors of the country have embarked on bearing fruits. It should be remembered that following the conflict that rocked the country for two years, Ethiopia has passed through a wide spectrum of challenges.
A wide spectrum of diplomatic efforts has been exerted by the federal government to make conversant the wider international community with the self-evident truth and got diplomatic relations back on track.
But after the signing of the groundbreaking peace accord, Ethiopia’s diplomatic relations with various nations have embarked on getting back on track and pointing forward in the right direction. Despite a lot of efforts have been made by Ethiopia’s adversaries to damage Ethiopia’s long-standing diplomatic relations with various nations through their bogus stories, Ethiopia has passed wisely all the challenges and ended up making its dream become a reality.
Notwithstanding the fact that the scale of external pressure posed by Ethiopia’s adversaries was beyond words, Ethiopia turned out to be victorious over its enemies.
Since the peace deal was inked, the federal government has been assisting the progress of the restoration of social infrastructure and the delivery of humanitarian assistance. In actual fact, given the current circumstances, the whole lot in the Tigray State has been witnessing dramatic changes in terms of improving diplomatic relations with the wider international community and ensuring peace and tranquility.
As the intensity of the disaster brought about by the conflict is very high, people from all walks of life have been preoccupied with normalizing the situation. In addition to giving credit to the positive development surfacing in the northern part of the country and bankrolling humanitarian assistance, high government officials from various nations have paid official visits to Ethiopia.
It has commonly been assumed that quite a lot of people have been displaced in the course of the conflict. In consideration of the foregoing, the federal government has been smoothing the path of humanitarian assistance by working in partnership with various humanitarian organizations. In addition to providing food and non-food items in partnership with various organizations, the federal government has been providing assistance for the displaced people fighting various life challenges.
The two-year conflict has severely impacted the flow of development cooperation to Ethiopia, the Inter-governmental Development Cooperation Director with the Ministry of Finance, Dejene Girma stated, adding that the truce changed the situation for the better. Apart from an ‘impressive’ return of the development cooperation between Ethiopia and some western countries, the latter also made more pledges to finance various projects, Dejene told the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA).
Following the peace agreement, foreign ministers of France, Germany, Finland, Spain and China came to Addis Ababa and inked various agreements that enabled consolidation of their respective countries’ development partnership with Ethiopia. For instance, Spain made an exemplary deed and pledged 44 million Euros to Ethiopia. The former also expressed readiness to further supplement Ethiopia’s development projects and to sustain the ongoing growth.
“The ministry has been employing diplomatic channels to consolidate the development cooperation. Accordingly, continued discussions are underway with Ethiopia’s diplomatic missions on ways to capitalize the CoHA to bring holistic development.” The ministry informed development partners about Ethiopia’s desire to get support for the extensive reconstruction and rehabilitation activities that were caused by different natural and manmade factors. “We will work in unison with Ethiopia’s diplomatic missions in seeking new development partners and consolidate the partnership with the existing ones,” Dejene noted.
Apart from development cooperation, the Ethiopian government has been working to transform the country’s relations with North American and European countries that have been largely characterized by assistance to business. Due to the steady efforts of all stakeholders, now the situation is changed and the flow of North American and European investment has become nearly equivalent to those that came from Asia.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit to Ethiopia indicates that the relationship between Ethiopia and the U.S. is in the process of being normalized, Morgan State University Political Science and International Relations Professor Getachew Metaferia said.
The professor told Ethiopian News Agency that the visit was good and beneficial for the two countries with 120-year long relationship.
Author of the book “Ethiopia and the United States: History, Diplomacy, and Analysis,” Professor Getachew noted that the visit shows that the relationship between the two countries is in the process of being normalized.
“The visit indicates that, the relations between the two countries, Ethiopia and the U.S., which were not quite cordial during the war between the Ethiopian Federal Government and the TPLF, is in the process of being normalized.”
According to him, the visit also indicates that the U.S. is back in Africa, as stated by President Biden during the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit.
“For Ethiopia and the U.S., this is a welcome after a brief hiatus, especially during the Trump administration,” Professor Getachew stated.
He added that, the U.S. cannot afford to be an onlooker when the geopolitics of the region is given more attention by competing powers such as China and Russia.
The professor pointed out that “the stability of Ethiopia is very important for the country itself, for the region, and for Africa at large. Because of this, Secretary Anthony Blinken emphasized durable peace and development in Ethiopia.”
Also, Blinken announced a significant amount of money (331 million USD) to help victims of conflict and drought.
Professor Getachew stated that the amount of money announced is the largest and that indicates the deep concern of the U.S.
Commenting about the re-admission of Ethiopia to AGOA, he said Ethiopia’s re-admission to AGOA will not only help the emerging export-oriented economy of Ethiopia; but will have significant social implications.
I hope that will take place soon as it will change the life and well-being of young men and girls who were employed for the first time, started earning wages and improving their lives, he underscored.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 21 MARCH 2023
