Ambassador Fisseha Shawl
Ethiopia, the owner of over 100 years diplomatic history, has not been advocating its immense contribution to the African continent and world as well. With the initiative of Former Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Demeke Mekonnen, the country has now exhibited and shared its main diplomatic achievement in the science museum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
In connection with the exhibition and diplomatic week, The Ethiopian Herald had interviewed Ambassador Fisseha Shawel, African Affairs Director General at the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ethiopia. Apart from diplomatic exhibition, our guest raised a range of issues concerning IGAD regional role, the advantage Ethiopia will get from BRICS membership and so on. Have a nice reading!
The theme of the Ethiopian diplomacy week and exhibition is “From African hub to the World.” What do you like to say in connection with this?
The very purpose of the exhibition was to affirm that Ethiopia’s diplomacy is not limited in serving the country but it further serves the continent as well as the whole world in terms of peace, stability, and economic focus. So, Ethiopia is a country with a history of collective security and collective prosperity, but we still want to reaffirm to the world that we are on the same principle now, yesterday, and before yesterday. And if you perceive the development projects of Ethiopia, all are linked with our neighbors and from our neighbors, it will go further to the continent and from the continent to the world.
So, Ethiopia is a diplomatic center for Africa. The country is one of the key players on the African continent and takes part in the whole world for the assurance of peace and stability as well as economic development and growth of countries to benefit their citizens.
This is the whole concept. We are not narrow focusing only on internal affairs and issues, but we center on issues of continental development, cooperation and regional coordination of the whole world.
If you perceive, we are members of the IGAD, and we have an immediate drought mitigation plan. Right now, we are a member of the BRICS which helps us to play a global role. We are also a member of the African Free Trade Area and African free-sky aviation. So, we are playing regional, continental, and global, and hence that’s what we want to show. The exhibition is a reassurance of Ethiopia’s diplomatic role from the continent to the world.
How do you describe the importance of the exhibition and diplomatic week in terms of showcasing Ethiopia’s role in past and current African affairs?
When the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established in 1907, almost all African countries, Latin America, and the Global South were under colonialism. In fact, colonialism was about to begin in most of the countries. At that time, Ethiopia was a global player in diplomacy and we used to have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1907. During the same period, what were the situation countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, the Gambia, or Zimbabwe? Ethiopia has a rich diplomatic history; however we have never utilized it. We never showcased data as we have said. Now, we are coming up with this initiative under the leadership role of former Deputy Prime Minister Demeke, who really came up with this idea, and thanks to his Excellency, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who approved our initiation, our plan, and our program. So it became a reality. So, the people of Ethiopia have to be involved.
We also came up with a book that demonstrated the deeds of the Ministry from 1907 up to 2023. The diplomatic tasks done so far by our excellent ministers, excellent ambassadors with their excellent engagement, excellent agreements, and excellent negotiations are displayed on it and that make us a big player in the continent and in the world. So, as our own story and it has to be told. Once the Prime Minister came to office and said our foreign ministry has both positive and negative history, we have to take lesson from the positive leaving the negative or bad history.
We want to take up with us as it is a rich engagement and rich culture of diplomacy of Ethiopia. This helped the country to keep its independence, territorial integrity, and now we attach to the whole continent. If you talk about independence, freedom and sovereignty, the history of diplomacy has greater importance.
What was your expectation from visitors of the exhibition, especially diplomatic community, to learn from it about Ethiopia?
Diplomats are in the field; they are attached to the African Union, engaged with the ECA, or occupied with IGAD, COMESA, or the Africa Free Trade Area. Whatever the case, they’re aware and know it. However, they may not know this detailed history and how we have progressed up to now. Their knowledge could be pieces by pieces and the exhibition had help them now, since the last 2000 years, or 3000 years — how diplomacy in Ethiopia has evolved.
And we were not a land and mountains or a country of trees, but a country of people, a country of leaders, a country of books the Quran, the Bible, and the Torah of the Jews. We were writing, we were thinking, and we were engaging with the Arabian Peninsula, Jerusalem, India, China, and Europe. So, this must be understood. I think African ambassadors who visited the exhibition appreciated it; they will have the advantage of learning about the long diplomatic history of Ethiopia. They don’t know Ethiopia which has a diplomatic history that we are talking about now as they may miss some details. The exhibition in this regard will help them to get an understanding of Ethiopia’s continuous, strong, uninterrupted positive role as an air for peace in the region and the world as well.
Would you reflect on Ethiopia’s national interest and its vibrant diplomatic journey?
If you see one of the booths, the title is to ensure the continuity of Ethiopia as a diplomatic center of the world. And that is reassurance of Ethiopia’s continuous engagement, like what we were doing. And diplomacy will be our focus as a government, and you will engage, and the end result is the protection of our national interests and the promotion of our national interests. What is our national interest? Our national interest is to have peace and stability in our country. So we do not want any national security threat coming from any part of this region, in the continent and the world, whether the west or the east, the north, or the south.
The second national interest that we push through our diplomacy is economic diplomacy. We have to invite investors, companies, and individuals from the east, west, China, Turkey, the US, and everybody else. They will come here.
The third national interest that we need to achieve through diplomatic engagement is the process of democratization. We have to be democratic in our regular elections; we have to have people expressing themselves and discussing their issues with themselves. So, we don’t want any interference from anybody else. At the same time, we have to have a raffle for Ethiopians to discuss. For this, we need capacity building, assistance, support, and some experience. So that’s how we want to learn from others about the democratization process. Our national interest is always to be equal among all equals, no less, no more. So we’re playing our role accordingly, based on principles and our national interests. That’s how we do it.
Ethiopia’s bid for BRICS membership has now received acceptance. How does it help its effort to benefit the whole continent beyond its own interest?
BRICS is not about ideology. The world is in dynamic transformation at this moment. The existing internationalist system is getting paralyzed and fractured. So in this transition, with Ethiopia’s core national interests at hand, we look into any opportunity that benefits our national interests. It could be security, peace, integration, economy, trade, science, or anything. So, the BRICS is now providing an alternative to the Bretton Woods Institutions that were established at the end of the Second World War in 1945.
And the medium of exchange is the US dollar. And now the West is defining what is wrong and right in the world, and Ethiopia has passed through a very difficult moment when we had a war with the North, when we had elections during Meles Zenawi’s tenure, and when we had war with Eritrea in 1998. During the Mengistu’s era, when we choose our ideology, we had suffered a lot from pressures like sanctions. Not only in Ethiopia, but many other countries, especially those that are developing, were once facing the same problem.
Now the BRICS is providing an alternative economic development model. We can use our own currencies, or we may barter things and commodities, and we’ll have our own banking system that could be of help. Ethiopia would use the previous international financial and other systems. At the same time, we will continue to use the BRICs. So that Ethiopia has options, seeking an alternative to achieve its national interest.
So, it is not about having a problem with the West, or having a problem with the West, or running away from other institutions, whether regional, continental, or international. This is for us; an opportunity presented itself to Ethiopia, with its large economy, large population, and strategic position. So why not use this platform (BRICS) to promote trade, investment, and economic benefits? Because of that, we have made a lot of preparations. And at last, thanks to the strong diplomatic struggle of our prime minister, His Excellency Dr. Abiy Ahmed, he really made it possible for Ethiopia to join the group.
Joining BRICS means something big, if we properly utilize it. However, the internal situation that we are witnessing these days is not good for us to exploit the benefits of the BRICS. We have to have a surplus of production, trained manpower, and the capacity to use funds. And we have to have good projects because Ethiopia is in the interest of many BRICS countries. So, we have to resolve things quickly, get on the right track, and have production. If the manpower is properly engaged in all kinds of productivity at the highest level, then we can benefit.
Now that Ethiopia has joined the BRICS, those countries may take us seriously. So from Africa, we have only Ethiopia, Egypt, and South Africa. It means, apart from using opportunities, Ethiopia is among the prominent countries according to the global community, among governments among states, with more than a 100 million people, a vibrant economy, hardworking people, and bordering all the countries in the Horn of Africa, potentially huge opportunities for everybody who want to partner with Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is just doing that. It’s not about any ideology or alliance shifting. It’s certainly promoting Ethiopia’s national interest, be it the economy, trade, or investing in peace.
Concerning peace and security, especially observed in East Africa, what has IGAD been doing for the last few years?
IGAD is trying. And it is successful. It has a long history in terms of peace and security. The Sudan peace process is because of IGAD; and the Somalia peace process, which brought government, federal government, and regional states together, is because of IGAD. In Sudan, we are engaged in the peace process, and we’re also trying to do something on the issue of Sudan. IGAD has done its best during the Ethiopia-Eritrea War of 1998–2000. They tried their best, but it did not succeed. So IGAD is a platform for cooperation on peace and security, for infrastructure, for regional integration, and for the movement of people and capital in the region.
But because, as you said, Sudan is burning now and almost destroying itself, the capital city is being destroyed. Khartoum is the eldest sister of Addis Ababa. And as for South Sudan, they have not moved much. And despite a lot of delays and transitions to implement the peace agreement of Addis Ababa, led by our prime minister in 2018 that agreement was still extended.
And now we’re also pushing on how to implement and conduct elections and bring in a government that is elected by its people. But we haven’t reached it yet. Somalia, the issue of Al-Shabab, and then the relationship between the center and territory—we need to move fast. We have to cover a lot of ground. And there are issues between the North Somalis, who want independence, and the Mogadishu federal government, which is not agreeing to the independence of Somaliland. There are also operations in Somalia. In Ethiopia, we had a terrible and devastating war in the northern part of the country, and it has left lots of people and property killed and destroyed. And now in the Amhara region, the same is happening. So, the peace and security of Ethiopia shouldn’t be like this. So most parts of the IGAD region are in the crisis.
Then, with this, IGAD cannot be effective. People tend to criticize IGAD, and I disagree. IGAD is a mirror of its members; when Ethiopia is healthy, Sudan is okay, South Sudan is advanced, and Somalia has defeated al-Shabaab, we will have a vibrant guide. Otherwise, we are focused on our internal situations. And we are trying to bring peace, security, law, and order. And because of that, our regional organization cannot be effective. The contribution of member states makes IGAD strong. Unless the members are healthy, strong, and peacefully developing, you cannot have a vibrant IGAD. The same is true with the African Union. The same is true with the United Nations.
So we have to work more through IGAD collectively and bilaterally to bring peace and stability to Sudan, which we are trying to do. We have to have dialogue; we have to bring peace to our country. And then we have to help also Somalia to protect ourselves from attack as Al Shabaab and ISIS are in front of us.
And also in South Sudan, they complete the process and do reactions, making it a very resourceful country. So Ethiopia is beneficiary of peace and stability in this region. And the peace and stability of Ethiopia are very beneficial to them. So we’ll fly together and stand up together. At the end, the objective of international relations is to maximize opportunities for the people.
So this needs peace and stability. And when we do that in the region, our continental organization and regional organization, IGAD, will be strong. A strong IGAD will give Ethiopia the opportunity to play its role in the continent and international community.
Thank you very much, Ambassador.
It’s my pleasure.
BY EPA STAFF MEMBERS
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2024
