1

Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed with Former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn

Ethiopian Embassy News A Monthly Bulletin of the Ethiopian Embassy, Washington D.C.

Year: IV Issue 10 April 2018

Ethiopia's New Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy

Ahmed, promises critical sector reforms

After taking the oath of office on 2 April 2018, Prime

Minister Dr. Abiy made a speech in which he uttered that

such a moment would open up a new chapter in the

county’s history. The new Premier noted that the peaceful

transfer of power signified two main realities: it signals

the fact that we have laid the foundations for a durable

and all-inclusive constitutional order as well as it implies

that we are building a system that walks along with the

country's political, economic, and social conditions and

which is governed by the will of the people.

Contents

Ethiopia's New Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, promises critical sector reforms ...... 1

Ethiopia marks 7th anniversary of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam ............................... 3

The adoption of House Resolution 128 is Untimely and Inappropriate ............................... 4

Senator Inhofe and Senator Rounds Statement on

“H.Res. 128” .................................................................. 5

2

Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed receiving the Ethiopian Flag from

Former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn

Dr. Abiy made it quite clear that while learning from

mistakes and looking ahead, he and his Government's

primary responsibility was to: "propel our country to a

higher level of development and move forward while

ensuring that its unity is secured on a sustainable basis."

The Premier emphasized vividly some of the prominent

historical events in Ethiopia that had proved to the whole

world the remarkable unity of its people and its identity -

"inextricably linked", from Metema to Adwa; from

Karamara to Badme. He stressed, however, that unity did

not signify oneness. It needed to be one that embraced

diversity while also being decorated with multinational

identity. He stressed that dissent and diverging

viewpoints must also be there if Ethiopians aspired to

witness their country as a prosperous and strong nation.

Concerning the economy, Dr. Abiy noted "even if it is

known that our economy is growing, this growth has not

met the changing needs of the youth. We understand that

our people are dissatisfied for this reason. Our country

can go nowhere without the youth. Ethiopia has to give

hope for its youth, and not engender the loss of hope." He

pledged that his Government will do all it can to creating

numerous young investors and put in place a just social

and economic structure.

Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed taking the Oath

A central element in his speech was democracy. The

Prime Minister said: "We Ethiopians need and also

deserve democracy. Democracy is not for us an alien idea.

When it was foreign to many peoples and countries, we

were governed by our democratic Gadaa system,

becoming an example to the world." Stressing the need to

respect all human and democratic rights and the

observance of peace and justice, the Prime Minister

affirmed that for Ethiopia today, building democracy was

an existential matter.

In the same way, he urged all those who called for their

democratic and human rights to act in a peaceful manner.

Violence, he said, would stunt the growth of the budding

democracy. In this context, Prime Minister Abiy also

assured the Ethiopian Diaspora that his government

would continue with unreserved efforts to facilitate their

active participation in transforming the country into all

inclusive and democratic one.

Turning to external affairs and stressing the need to

further expand ties with neighboring countries, the Prime

Minister mentioned the close cross and inter-cultural

linkages among all the peoples of the Horn of Africa. As

the country is the emblem of Pan-Africanism, the founder

and seat of the African Union as well as many other

important international organizations it plays a notable

role in regional, continental, and global matters. Dr. Abiy

said his Government would further reinforce and

continue its relations with all "our African brothers.”

3

The Premier referred specifically to relations with Eritrea:

"While expressing our readiness to resolve our differences

through dialogue, I take this opportunity to call on the

Eritrean government to take a similar stand not only for

the sake of our common interest but also for the common

blood relations between the peoples of the two countries."

Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed delivering his speech

Prime Minister Dr. Abiy expressed his strong hope that the

upcoming time in Ethiopia would be a time of love and

forgiveness. He asked forgiveness for the many advocates

of freedom and justice and the politicians and youth whose

lives were cut short over the years and for the members of

the security forces whose lives were lost to keep peace and

in the line of duty of their constitutional responsibility. He

called for people to close the chapters of yesterday with

forgiveness and promised to devise solutions for the

problems that led to past crises.

Ethiopia marks 7th anniversary of the Grand

Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) nearing completion

Ethiopia celebrated the 7th anniversary of the

commencement of the construction of the Grand Ethiopian

Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Monday (April 2). The

celebration was held at Guba, in Benishangul Gumuz

Regional State, where the dam is being constructed.

Speaking at the event, Engineer Azeb Asnake, Chief

Executive Officer of Ethiopian Electric Power, said GERD's

power generating capacity has now reached 6,450 MW

following the design upgrading underway twice, which

upon completion will be the largest in Africa. She added

that upon completion of the projects at Genale Dawa,

Koischa, Alutho Geothermal, Korbeti and Tulu Moye and

Rapi Waste to Energy Project, the country will be able to

produce some 10,000 megawatts of electric power.

Etenesh Mekuria, State Minister of Water, Irrigation and

Electricity, on her part underlined that the construction of

the dam would not be a threat to the lower riparian

countries; rather it would improve the unity of the states

concerned. The government remains totally confident that

GERD will play a major role for the regional integration, for

the benefit of the peoples of all the riparian countries and

is committed to find a win-win solution for all countries.

Equally, the State Minister stressed the dam would create

not only electric power but also cement national unity and

the fight against poverty.

4

It is stated that the Diaspora had bought US56 million

worth of bonds to help finance the Dam, as well as several

hundred million dollars from the public at home. The total

cost of construction is estimated at 4.7 billion dollars. It is

worth underlining that in addition to purchasing bonds,

local farmers have planted 4 billion tree seedlings around

the dam to protect the ecosystem. The Spokesperson also

noted that the government had helped form an association,

Ethiopian International Professional Support for Abay

(EIPSA), bringing economists, engineers and water experts

of Ethiopian origin to provide technical expertise on the

Dam project.

The Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam (GERD) shows that

Ethiopia is on the right track to implement its ambitions of

accelerating national development to eradicate poverty,

achieve economic well-being and attain the status of a

middle-income country by 2025. GERD will be the largest

hydropower dam in Africa and the tenth largest in the

world with its1,780-meter width and 145 meters in height.

Its completion will change the face of East African power

infrastructure. It will have the potential to generate 6,450

MW, equivalent to the combined power of 4 nuclear

reactors.

GERD will also provide cheap and abundant electricity to

the booming manufacturing sector of the country. The

demand for electricity is currently growing by more than

20% each year. According to the Office of National Council

for the Coordination of Public Participation on the

Construction of GERD, electricity generation from the Dam

is planned to start this year. Two turbines each with

capacity to generate 375 MW have already been installed

and are waiting to test electricity generation. Another

additional effect of the Dam has been the creation of job

opportunities for about 9,000 Ethiopians and 260 foreign

nationals who are participating in the construction of the

dam and substantially expanded infrastructure in the

region.

The adoption of House Resolution 128 is

Untimely and Inappropriate

The Government of Ethiopia believes that the passing of

the H. Res. 128 by the U.S. House is untimely and

inappropriate. This simple resolution is counterproductive

and is against the important partnership between the U.S.

and Ethiopia. Those members of the House who

cosponsored the resolution conspicuously failed to

recognize the changing reality on the ground. It is believed

that the said resolution is more of political than focusing

the addressing the challenges Ethiopia faces.

H Res. 128 ignores the positive strides the country has

made recently. Even if H. Res. 128 is not binding and

substantive, members of the opposition and social media

activists are using it for their ulterior motive to undermine

Ethiopia and its government. It is apparent that the

Government of Ethiopia has been in the middle leadership

transition, working under new political dynamism by

launching bold reforms aimed at increasing transparency

and widening the country's democratic space. Some of

these initiatives include releasing of prisoners and

stabilizing the situation in conflict affected areas across

the country. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was also sworn

and expressed the political will of the leadership to

urgently undertake the multifaceted reforms that could

address the grievance and concern of people in short

period of time. This momentum created optimism in the

country encouraging the leadership to embark on a

promising trajectory. That is why the Government of

Ethiopia believes H.Res.128 is untimely and inappropriate.

The United States Congress has supported democratic

values and helped advance peace and stability in Ethiopia.

As a result, over the past decades, the United States and

Ethiopia have worked closely to strengthen our democratic

system and help improve human rights conditions. Of

course, in some cases, there have been differences as to

how to achieve these objectives, but we have always

welcomed positive engagement with the United States.

However, given the strong bilateral ties and the joint efforts

to address governance and human rights concerns through

5

“As a strategic partner to the United States, particularly in

terms of security cooperation in the region, Ethiopia

deserved better today. We are disappointed in the House of

Representative’s vote and want you to know that this

resolution is not binding and has no force of law. We will

continue to support you as the vital, vibrant partner for

democracy that you are.”

mutually agreed mechanisms, passing such a resolution is

unnecessary and counterproductive. Moreover, while

Ethiopia values its bilateral relations with the United States

and works to promote regional peace and security in the

Horn of Africa, the resolution undermines its sovereignty

and political independence.

The Government of Ethiopia would also like to express its

appreciation to those Members of Congress, Senate and

Executive branch who, having evaluated the facts on the

ground as well as weighing the importance of the bilateral

relationship, worked against this biased resolution.

Senator Inhofe and Senator Rounds Statement

on “H.Res. 128”

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and Sen. Mike Rounds made the

following statement after H.Res. 128, an outdated

resolution from the House of Representatives that

condemned the democratically elected government in

Ethiopia, was passed by voice vote:

“We have been to Ethiopia many times and seen firsthand

the progress they have made—coming out of communism

to democracy. This inaccurate resolution is an insult to the

country, the people of Ethiopia and to the newly sworn-in

Prime Minister. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was especially

selected by Ethiopians for his commitment to democracy

and good governance.

“Prime Minster Abiy deserves a chance to prove himself

and his commitment to democracy to the United States and

the international community before enduring such a rude,

inaccurate resolution. It is a shame that the House of

Representatives would pass a resolution that sharply

condemns the Ethiopian government at just the moment it

needs support to enact needed reforms. We are especially

disappointed that this passed by voice vote so no one

Congressman would have the stigma of voting for this

condescending resolution.

6

Connect with us:

https://www.twitter.com/ethembassyUS

Contact Us: EMBASSY OF ETHIOPIA

3506 International Drive, NW

Washington D.C., 20008

Email: ethiopia@ethiopianembassy.org

Tel: 202 364 1200 Fax: 202 587 0195

www.ethiopianembassy.org