Ethiopia could lose up to 26 billion birr annually by putting into operation the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), according to a document from the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration. This includes Sur tax, withholding, excise, and VAT tax revenues generated from imports from African countries, which will be tariff free under the AfCFTA.
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China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi is visiting Ethiopia this week in a show of his nation’s support for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government amid a yearlong civil war with rebels from the northern Tigray region.
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It is actually embarrassing, to begin with, that the leader of a big country like Ethiopia uses Facebook, instead of an official government website, to get his messages across. The PM should close down his Facebook account and not humiliate himself further by posting there. The PM's post should have been seen in the context of the war going on in the Northern part of Ethiopia, but Facebook deleted it because it wanted to make a statement that it is a force for good and improve its own image.
Ethiopia's Tigray rebels on Thursday issued a new list of demands which the group said must be met before engaging in ceasefire talks with the government. Read more here.
Ethiopia government has been trying to unite East African countries and stabilise the region so that the people of the region will focus on developments. But Egypt and Sudan, with the help of the US, have started diplomatic campaigns, jumping from countries to countries to prevent that in order to isolate and weaken Ethiopia and reverse its diplomatic gains.
But since their diplomatic efforts are based on conspiracies against Ethiopia, and are not done for the mutual benefits of the people, they will not succeed. Ethiopia's neighbours gain more by cooperating with Ethiopia than being servants for countries that do not have their best interest.
Pressure is mounting on Ethiopia to declare a ceasefire in the northern province of Tigray to allow humanitarian organizations to reach millions of people who face famine.
The war in Tigray has disrupted harvests and led to huge problems for the delivery of aid to communities, particularly in rural areas. More than 2 million people are thought to have been displaced by the conflict.
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By the way, the West says it cares for Ethiopians more than the Ethiopian government. It did not send help on time when the government had asked them. The West uses the humanitarian crises as a pretext to interfere. It does not care for human rights.
The Western media have been campaigning to tarnish the image of Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy and his government, and the US has been threatening with sanctions, because of human rights issues. But the real motive of the negative media campaigns and sanctions threats is that PM Abiy has refused to be a puppet, and he has been carrying out independent policies.
The US does not care for human rights; many of its allies are countries ruled by dictators who abuse human rights. The issue of human rights is just a pretense the US uses to interfere with the internal affairs of a country.
Asmara, 24 May 2021- The 30th anniversary of Independence Day was celebrated enthusiastically in the afternoon hours of today, 24 May at an official ceremony conducted at Asmara Stadium.
In his keynote address, President Isaias Afwerki extended his warmest congratulations to the Eritrean people and members of the Defense Forces and said that the significance and splendor of this momentous day radiate more with time; year-in and year-out. And beyond instilling immense jubilation and pride, it impels us to ponder on, and mull over several indelible truths, President Isaias added.Is being 'independent' from their own country Ethiopia, something to celebrate? Independence or not Eritreans identity will not change; they will always be Tigrians just like the Tigrians in Ethiopia, and the Afar people will always be Ethiopians. So, what are they celebrating? Democracy?
It is amazing how politicians use nationalism to trick people into believing they have achieved something. But in reality, the independence of Eritrea has no benefit for Eritreans, except, of course, for those in power.
The next general election in Ethiopia will be held on June 21, but no one should expect the results to be accurate. Ethiopia is learning how effectively to organize elections so if there is no clear winner and the results are disputed the seats should be equally shared with the disputing parties. No need to argue or cause problems.
Exaggeration and dramatization is part of journalism. Good example is how CNN reports about the crisis in Tigry, Ethiopia. You can look it up in Google. There is a saying in Amharic, 'it is easy to tell lies about a far land.' That is what CNN has been doing. Good for business.
Congratulations! It took us a while but we have now free media and everyone can express his opinion openly; there is no issue that is not being discussed freely.
I am not Amhara, I am not Oromo, I am an Ethiopian. But I want to praise Amhara because he is being targeted by the enemies within and without.
Amhara is a lion. He has united Ethiopian tribes and protected them from colonialism. That is why the enemies hate him and accuse him of oppressing others, in order to steal his land and weaken Ethiopians unity.
Amhara has never imposed his culture and language on others. Ethiopia still has more than 84 different tribes, practicing their own cultures freely. The widespread use of the Amharic language is not the result of oppression but efficiency. But many foreigns, especially politicians and journalists have tried to misrepresent it. They have been trying to make Amhara look like the African equivalent of the European colorists who invaded foreign countries and imposed their cultures and languages on people they colonized, in order to call Ethiopia an empire. But Amhara has never oppressed anyone and Ethiopia is a nation.
Sudan says that as an attempt to divert attention form the fact it has invaded and occupied Ethiopian land.
The border area has witnessed tension between Ethiopia and Sudan that is still escalating-Getty
Ethiopia has accused its neighbour Sudan on Friday of occupying part of its territory and fighting by proxy for a "third party".
This was reported by the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA), quoting a member of the Ethio-Sudan Joint Boundary Commission Wuhib Muluneh.
According to Muluneh, Ethiopia: "Feels that reaching a bilateral decision is the best way out of the crisis rather than inviting a third party to interfere." In an interview with ENA, he stressed: "There are doubts that a third party was behind the Sudanese move, which refers to a proxy war."
Muluneh added that in light of the long-standing relations between the two countries, the dispute must be resolved peacefully, confirming that reactivating the border mechanisms is the only option to end the recent border crisis between Ethiopia and Sudan.
Muluneh asserted that before the start of any negotiations, the Sudanese army must evacuate the area "occupied" earlier by its troops who attempted to displace Ethiopian farmers, as he put it.
Sudan has not yet commented on the Ethiopian accusations.
Relations between Sudan and Ethiopia have been undergoing escalating tensions for weeks, following the outbreak of armed attacks on the borders of the two countries. Khartoum asserts that the attacks were carried out by Ethiopian militias backed by army forces on Sudanese territory, while Addis Ababa denies the accusations.
Sudan has opportunistically invaded Ethiopia and evicted Ethiopian farmers from their fertile lands in Al-Fashqa , but media such as Reuters and others continue to spread lies by saying that Al-Fashqa lies within Sudan’s international boundaries. If there is an agreed international boundary between Ethiopia and Sudan, what is then causing all the disagreement? Al-Fashqa belongs to Ethiopian farmers. The invaders must returns it to the owners. Just because Sudan is a desert country, it does not mean that it has the right to invade fertile land of its neighbor.
The TPLF membe , the enemies of Ethiopian people, are being captured one by one. Well done, the Ethiopian army and the Government. But have you noticed that the Western media and others are quiet and do not report much about it? It seems they are not happy that the criminals are being brought to justice.
Sudan has invaded Ethiopia and occupied its territory, but the Ethiopian government has continued to negotiation with it about how to fill the Millennium Dam, instead of suspending the negotiation until Sudan leaves its occupied territory and pays compensation for the damages it has caused. By continuing to negotiate with Sudan, while it is still occupying its territory by force, the Ethiopian government gives the impression that it is not serious about defending its territory.
NAIROBI (Reuters) - A senior Ethiopian general said in a video clip posted on social media this week that Eritrean troops had entered the country uninvited while his soldiers were battling a rebellious force in the northern region of Tigray.
January 1, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Egypt slammed statements by an Ethiopian government official for stating that Cairo has been seeking to hamper the construction of a giant dam on the Blue Nile to distract its people from internal problems
Dina Mufti, the former Ethiopian Ambassador to Egypt and Foreign Ministry Spokesman recently said that the Egyptian government uses the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to divert the attention f its people from internal problems
On Wednesday 30 December, the Egyptian foreign ministry said that the Ethiopian chargé d’affaires had been summoned to explain Mufti’s statements in which he touched on the Egyptian internal affairs.
Egypt "condemned these statements which are considered a blatant transgression," reads a statement released by the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ahmed Hafez on Thursday.
Hafez stressed that such an offence against his country is a continuation of the Ethiopian government’s approach aiming to use a hostile tone and fuelling emotions to cover its "multiple failures domestically and externally".
He went further to speak to the ongoing internal troubles in the Tigray and Benishangul regions as well as the "constant tensions and instability in the Oromia region". Also, he referred to the ongoing border tensions with Sudan.
On 31 December, the head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan reacted to statements by the Spokesman of the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry who said that Sudanese army had carried out inside Ethiopia.
The Sudanese armed forces "have not and will not cross international borders or attack neighbouring Ethiopia," said al-Burhan.
Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have to resume meetings on the GERD in the upcoming days in a long process that has been continuing for nine years.
Trusting Sudan would not invade Ethiopia territory, PM Abiy moved Ethiopian army from border area. That was a strategic mistake. Sudan and other Arab countries will never be friends to Ethiopia, instead they wait for opportunities to attack it. That is what the recent invasion of Ethiopian territories by Sudan militia shows. That is what history teach us. PM Abiy should stop his naivety and correct hist mistakes. Only strength and unity
