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Ambasciata d’Italia ad Addis Abeba

SERVIZIO NEWS

29.01.2015

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Contents

ETHIOPIA

Scheda informativa della Nove Consulting ............................................................................. 3

Ethiopia, India Keen To Foster Strong Partnership............................................................... 4

Dr Tedros Meets His Egyptian Counterpart............................................................................. 5

AU, China Sign MOU ..................................................................................................................... 6

Ethiopian Officials Learning Korea’s Food Reserves Policy ................................................. 7

Authority Collects Over 64 Bln Birr ........................................................................................... 8

Ethiopia To Host Argus Fmb Africa Fertilizer 2015 Conference.......................................... 9

EEP Working To Finalize Power Generation Projects On Time ......................................... 10

SOUTH SUDAN

S. Sudan President rushed to hospital after “stress induced’’ illness ............................. 11

Rights Groups Call On Au To Publish Report On South Sudan Crimes ............................ 12

DJIBOUTI

Conseil Des Ministres : Des Structures Adaptees Aux Nouvelles Exigences.................. 14

EVENTS

Presentation by the Italian Architect Arturo Vittori.……………………………………….. 15

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SCHEDA INFORMATIVA DELLA NOVE CONSULTING PER LA PROSSIMA FIERA

DELLA PELLE CHE SI TERRA’ AD ADDIS ABEBA (20-22 FEBBRAIO 2015)

Per maggiori informazioni contattare fabiosantoni.noveconsulting@gmail.com.

4

ETHIOPIA, INDIA KEEN TO FOSTER STRONG PARTNERSHIP

On the margins of the of

the 26th Ordinary Session

of the Executive Council of

the African Union, Foreign

Affairs Minister Dr. Tedros

Adhanom met with India’s

ice Foreign Minister,

Navtej Sarna on Tuesday

(January 27).

(28.01.2015 – WIC)

The two Ministers discussion

covered India-Africa

partnership and on the

cooperation of the two

countries on bilateral and

global issues of mutual

concern.

On the occasion, Dr Tedros

noted that Ethiopia and India

have enjoyed long standing

genuine and cordial relations.

Dr Tedros further noted that

strong cooperation on

education served both

countries as building block

towards mutually cooperative

partnership. The Foreign

Minister underlined Ethiopia’s

keenness to encourage Indian

investors and business persons’

involvement in various

investment sectors and noted

the importance of organizing

business forums to promote

investment opportunities and

create linkages among

businesses of the two

countries.

He also underscored the need

to expand trade and increase

trade volume which currently

stands one billion USD.

Navtej Sarna described the

smooth Ethio-India bilateral

relations as cordial;

constructive noting that the

ties featured string cooperation

of capacity building especially

in terms of human

development.

The Minister also said that

India is appreciative of

Ethiopia’s v ibrant economic

development, stressing the

importance of taking the

partnership into a higher level

to achieve the common

development of the two

nations.

Foreign Minister Navtej Sarna

further suggested the need to

deepen and strengthen

partnership with Ethiopia in

numerous areas including

security, space science,

railway, as well as broadening

cooperation in the area of

education.

Both Ministers agreed to make

the existing relations stronger

and more comprehensive on

the proposed fields of

cooperation.

They also reached a consensus

to reactivate the Ethio-India

Joint Ministerial Commission in

a bid to review all areas of

cooperation, identify the

challenges and devise ways to

tackle the same.

According to MoFA, they also

exchanged views on the

contributions of the India-Africa

Summit in fostering

cooperation between the two

countries.

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DR TEDROS MEETS HIS EGYPTIAN COUNTERPART

On the sidelines of the 26th

Ordinary Session of the

Executive Council of the

African Union, Foreign

Affairs Minister Dr. Tedros

Adhanom held discussions

with Foreign Minister of

Egypt, Sameh Shoukri,

yesterday on issues related

to the achievements made

so far in the Tripartite Dam

Talks as well as the high

level political discussions of

the two countries.

(28.01.2015 – WIC)

The two Ministers briefed

journalists the areas dwelt

during their bilateral

discussions. Speaking to the

media, Dr Tedros recalled that

the two countries have had

regular engagements at all

levels as per the agreements

made by the leaders of the two

nations in Malabo last year to

hold regular engagement at all

levels.

He said today’s bilateral

discussions are part of the

agreement made in Malabo. He

also said that both countries

are continuing dialogue at

technical, Water and Foreign

Ministers and at Heads of State

meeting level.

He went on to add that the

leaders of the two countries

have so far met twice and they

will be meeting in Addis Ababa

at the margins of the 24th AU

Assembly of Heads of State

and Government Summit.

He said that this high level

engagement will help drive the

technical level forward.

Dr Tedros said that he had

candid and productive

discussions with his

counterpart, Minister Sameh

Shoukri and added that the key

point of the meeting was

evaluating the progress made

in the Tripartite Dam Talks and

ways to help the technical level

expedite the process of the two

studies recommended by the

International Panel of Experts.

He also mentioned that the

discussions also focused on

evaluating the progress made

so far at high level political

discussions, assessing the

weaknesses and devising

mechanisms to improve the

relations.

Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri

said in the last six months both

countries have had “productive

relationship”, which paved the

way to address issues of

common interest in “a very

candid and transparent’

manner.

He said on all issues of

common interest, he “tries to

look it from Ethiopians’ eyes

and that I have every

indication that Dr Tedros v iews

the issues from the eyes of

Egyptian Government and

People.”

Foreign Minister Sameh

Shoukri, who also noted that

both countries have reinforced

the achievements of the

technical committee,

emphasized that “We look

forward that the political

commitment on both sides will

help in achieving greater

progress.” (MoFA)

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AU, CHINA SIGN MOU

The Africa Union (AU) and

the Chinese Government

signed a Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU) on an

open cooperation within

the framework of Agenda

2063 here yesterday.

(28.01.2015 – WIC)

Africa Union Commission

Chairperson Dr. Nkossazana

Dilamini Zuma and Special

Envoy of the Chinese

Government and Vice Minister

of Foreign Affairs Mr. Zhang

Ming signed the MoU.

On the occasion Zuma said: “It

is to be recalled that we had a

very high level v isit from the

Peoples Republic of China by

the Premier last year. It was in

that meeting that we discussed

what we think is important for

Africa to attain its v ision and

objective of a prosperous,

united and peaceful Africa

guided by its own people."

"Among other things, we

discussed that we could

cooperate with China on a

number of areas at continental

level and those were mainly

around infrastructure,” Zuma

said.

She said that both have worked

together on those issues

between then and now, and

they have come up with this

MoU that covers high-speed

railways, highways, aviation

and industrialization.

“So, we think that this MoU is

really the first that we are

signing on the basis of Agenda

2063. We are looking at it as a

long term project; and we are

looking at it as a project that

will benefit both the People's of

Africa and China. It will also

accelerate our integration,”

Zuma added. Mr. Zhang on his

part said that he believes this

document can be called the

document of the century.

“After in depth study carried

out by the two sides, today, we

have signed the MoU to

construct the three major

networks and the

industrialization process,”

Zhang said.

He stressed that it is a grand

and ambitious but feasible

project.

The cooperation agreement

with regard to the project is

said to be a long-term plan but

it is not yet known how much it

costs in terms of money and

which countries of the

continent will be the first

beneficiaries.

Zuma said that teams and sub-

committees have been set up

to study the ways of

implementing the projects, the

amount of budget they cost

and the ways and means of

raising funds. (EH)

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ETHIOPIAN OFFICIALS LEARNING KOREA’S FOOD RESERVES POLICY

Ethiopian government

officials are studying

Korea’s farm policy and

know-how in securing food

reserves efficiently, Seoul

officials said Tuesday.

(28.01.2015 – WIC)

The African country dispatched

a delegation of high-profile

officials to Korea, seeking

inputs to deal with food

security issues, according to

the Ministry of Agriculture,

Food and Rural Affairs.

The eight-member delegation,

led by Mirafe Marcos, chief of

staff of the Agricultural

Transformation Agency, and

Misrak Mamo, director general

of the Strategic Food Reserve

Agency, arrived on January 25

for a weeklong discussion on

managerial system and

technology for food reserves.

Establishing an efficient food

reserve system has been one

of the key agendas of the

Ethiopian government,

according to food security

experts, as the lack of

sustainable food reserves has

threatened the country ’s food

security.

According to a 2013 report by

the Swiss-based NCCR Trade

Regulation, the core challenges

of Ethiopia’s food security

stems from poor distribution

and policies.

“We were requested (by the

Ethiopian counterparts) to

share Korea’s know-how in

increasing the efficiency of

strategic food reserve policies,

especially by fostering a strong

partnership between the state

and local business entities,” the

Agriculture Ministry said.

“The event marks the first time

Korea is sharing its provision of

the food reserve system with a

foreign country,” the ministry

added, pointing out that both

parties will hold a meeting

Wednesday to primarily cover

the (Korean) state control on

strategic grain reserves.

The Korea-Ethiopia agricultural

cooperation is supported by

Korea’s International

Development Cooperation, led

by the prime minister. The IDC

is currently engaged in

partnership with 26 developing

countries, including Ethiopia, to

promote sustainable economic

development on the global

level. (Korea herald)

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AUTHORITY COLLECTS OVER 64 BLN BIRR

The Ethiopian Revenues

and Customs Authority said

that it has collected 64.66

billion Birr in six month

plan which is 97.82 per

cent achievement.

Compared to last year's

same period, the

achievement has shown

increment by 21.24 per

cent.

(28.01.2015 – WIC)

But it planned to collect 66.098

billion Birr during the plan

period. The Authority has

planned to collect over 134.2

billion Birr by the end of 2007

fiscal year. The Authority took

administrative measures

against 28 employees who

behaved unethically in the

reported period.

Briefing journalists as regards

Authority 's six month

performance report and 2007

Tax Week event at Authority 's

Head Office yesterday,

Education and Communication

Directorate Director Ephrem

Mekonnen said that out of the

total revenue 64.66 billion Birr

collected, 70.75 per cent was

from indirect taxes, 27.60 per

cent from direct taxes, and

1.55 per cent was from non-tax

revenues.

The Addis Ababa City

Administration has collected

9.36 billion Birr which is 76.07

per cent achievement of the six

month plan. The Authority 's

plan was to collect 12.3 billion

Birr.

The Tax Week which will be

celebrated with various events

February 3-8, 2015 is aimed at

introducing development

projects implemented by taxes

collected previously, making

tax public agenda and

organizing face to face

discussion platform to raise the

necessity of paying tax, among

others.

The Authority is working hard

to create conducive

atmosphere for development

and investors, harmonize tax

administration systems and to

facilitate conditions for revenue

collection.

Although illegal trades have

shown reduction in the

country, contraband goods

worth 197.16 million Birr was

captured over the last six

months of this fiscal year.

Moyale, Jigjiga and Hawassa

towns faced with high

contraband activ ities.

9

ETHIOPIA TO HOST ARGUS FMB AFRICA FERTILIZER 2015 CONFERENCE

The Argus FMB Africa

Fertilizer 2015 conference

will be held on 18-20

February 2015 in Addis

Ababa, Ethiopia, the

Ministry of Agriculture

(MoA) said.

(28.01.2015 – WIC)

According to a statement MoA

sent to WIC today, the

conference is expected to

attract 400 attendees from 60

countries, including heads of

70 fertilizer companies,

agriculture and research

centers.

Moreover, producers, traders,

policy and financial advisers

and distributors throughout

Africa and beyond are also

participants of the conference,

it said.

Some seven research papers

will be presented from the

Ethiopian side at the event, the

statement added.

On February 17, participants of

the conference will v isit

Ethiopia's first ever fertilizer

blending facility at Tullu Bollo,

Oromia Regional State, it was

learnt.

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EEP WORKING TO FINALIZE POWER GENERATION PROJECTS ON TIME

Chief Executive Officer

(CEO) of the Ethiopian

Electric Power (EEP) Azeb

Asnake said concerted

efforts are underway to

finalize electric power

generation projects within

the stated time frame.

(28.01.2015 – WIC)

Azeb presented a six month

report of EEP’s activ ities to the

House of People’s

Representatives (HPR) Natural

Resource Development and

Environmental Conservation

Standing Committee.

She said hydro, wind,

geothermal and solar power

generation projects across the

country are progressing well.

Construction of power

transmission and distribution

stations is also being

conducted as per the schedule.

She mentioned the GERD –

Dedesa – Holeta 500 KV power

transmission line which is at

60% completion rate as a case

in point. The Wolayta Sodo–

Addis Ababa 400 KV

transmission line construction

has reached 95% completion.

In the past six months, 307

towns and rural roads

benefited from the

government’s electrif ication

program. Some 291 towns and

rural roads will benefit from

similar schemes shortly, Azeb

added.

According to FBC, local

contractors and small scale

unions were involved in the

projects.

11

SOUTH SUDA N

S. SUDAN PRESIDENT RUSHED TO HOSPITAL AFTER “STRESS INDUCED’’

ILLNESS

South Sudanese president

Salva Kiir was rushed to

hospital in the Ethiopian

Capital, Addis Ababa, on

Wednesday after he fell ill

during a meeting.

(28.01.2015 – Sudan

Tribune)

Kiir arrived in Addis Ababa on

Tuesday to attend the 24th

ordinary session of the

assembly of head of states and

government of the African

Union (AU).

He was also expected to attend

the Intergovernmental

Authority on Development’s

(IGAD) leaders summit due to

k ick off on Thursday to discuss

the ongoing conflict in South

Sudan.

Kiir’s sudden illness interrupted

a meeting between the

president and rebel leader Riek

Machar, which was being

hosted by Ethiopian prime

minister and IGAD chairperson

Hailemariam Desalegn ahead

of the leaders summit, which

was due to be held on the side

lines of the AU assembly.

The direct talks were aimed at

securing an agreement

between the rival leaders on a

series of contentious issues,

particularly on the structure of

the agreed interim

government.

The meeting was also being

held to brief African leaders on

the progress of the IGAD-led

mediation process and to

reports on the outcome of

consultation meetings between

the government and rebel

faction held in Juba and Pagak

during the recess.

An IGAD source later told

Sudan Tribune that president

Kiir had suffered a nosebleed

brought on by “stress”.

As a result, IGAD was forced to

cancel the meeting between

the two rival leaders.

IGAD has also been forced to

delay the regional leaders

meeting.

IGAD officials told Sudan

Tribune that if Kiir’s condition

does not improve by Thursday,

the leaders summit may have

to be postponed indefinitely.

According to medical doctor

Yonas Yohannes, one of the

main causes of non-trauma

induced nosebleeds is an

increase in blood pressure

caused by either stress,

excessive consumption of

alcohol, dry climate or heavy

smoking.

However, he cautioned that the

causes of Kiir’s illness could not

be properly determined without

a thorough medical

examination.

12

RIGHTS GROUPS CALL ON AU TO PUBLISH REPORT ON SOUTH SUDA N CRIMES

International and national

human rights and civil

society organisations have

called on the African Union

(AU) to make public its

findings in an investigation

into crimes committed by

warring parties in South

Sudan.

(29.01.2015 –Sudan

Tribune)

AU’s Peace and Security

Council (PSC) is expected to

meet in the Ethiopian capital,

Addis Ababa, to consider the

final report of the Commission

of Inquiry on South Sudan, its

first-ever commission to

document the conflict’s abuses

and offer recommendations on

justice and reconciliation.

In a statement released on

Tuesday, Human Rights Watch

(HRW) urged the continental

body to publish its findings,

saying making it public will

unveil responsibilities and make

accountable major players in

the conflict.

“If the African Union (AU)

decides to keep its report

documenting wartime abuses

in South Sudan under wraps, it

could hinder bringing those

responsible for war crimes and

crimes against humanity to

account,” partly reads the

statement by HRW director for

Africa, Daniel Bekele.

HRW praised the AU’s creation

of the Commission of Inquiry

and its task on South Sudan as

a crucial step in the right

direction, but warned its

unprecedented effort risks

being undermined if the report

is not made public.

“Some regional players may be

reluctant to see the information

in the report published on the

idea that it could upset current

peace negotiations,” the

statement observed, but added

the assumption was misplaced.

“To the contrary, the parties to

the peace negotiations should

be fully confronted with the

commission’s findings, and

they should be pressed for

concrete steps to bring about

justice in any peace

agreement,” it says.

The region’s long history of

impunity for grave crimes has

only fuelled the abuses in the

recent war and that if South

Sudan were to end cycles of

v iolence, ensuring justice this

time around is one of the key

ingredients, it observed.

SOUTH SUDAN CIVIL

SOCIETIES WANT REPORT

RELEASED

A group of 20 civ il society

organisations have also written

a petition to the AU’s Peace

and Security Council, urging

the regional body to release

the report to the public.

“We believe that the release of

the Commission of Inquiry ’s

report and the provision of

timely public information on its

findings and status could play a

critical role in deterring further

v iolations and abuses and

bringing sustainable peace to

South Sudan,” they argued in a

joint statement addressed to

AU.

The civ il societies further said

the report, if made public, will

be an important reminding tool

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to deter the perpetrators from

further committing crimes.

WARRING PARTIES

DIVIDED

The two warring parties in

South Sudan have however

responded with mixed

reactions on what to do with

the report.

President Salva Kiir’s

government reportedly sought

the intervention of IGAD to

prevent the release the findings

of the AU inquiry commission,

as it fears that international

sanctions based on its

recommendation.

African Union sources say the

report includes a

recommendation to impose

sanction on the warring parties

convicted of war crimes.

Also the agreement on the

reunification of the SPLM

signed in Arusha on 21 January

provides that any SPLM

member convicted of “crimes

against humanity, war crimes,

crimes against peace or gross

human rights v iolations and

abuses” since 15th December

2013 shall be eligible to hold

public office in the SPLM and

the South Sudan government.

The leader of the rebel faction

of the Sudan Peoples’

Liberation Movement (SPLM-

IO), Riek Machar, has however

called on the African Union to

release and make public the

report.

“We demand that the AU

should release and make public

the report prepared by the

Commission of Inquiry,” he

said on Saturday from the

Kenyan capital, Nairobi.

The opposition group argued

that the report will reveal the

damages done and provide

crucial information on the need

to address the situation in the

ongoing negotiations as well as

become the basis for

accountability, justice and

reconciliation.

For the past one year of the

conflict, tens of thousands

have died, 2 million uprooted

from their homes and four

million others threatened by

hunger and diseases.

Recommendations of the AU’s

report, if released and

submitted to the United

Nations Security Council

(UNSC) may likely be used as a

basis for further action should

the warring parties not sign a

peace agreement.

14

DJIBOUTI

CONSEIL DES MINISTRES : DES STRUCTURES ADAPTEES AUX NOUVELLES

EXIGENCES

Le chef de l’Etat a présidé

hier au palais de la

République la 3ème séance

du conseil des ministres. Au

cours de cette séance,

l’Exécutif a examiné et

approuvé un projet de loi,

deux projets de décret et

quatre projets d’Arrêté.

(28.01.2015 – La Nation)

Le premier texte concerne la

réorganisation du ministère de

l’Economie et des Finances. Ce

projet de loi, présenté par M.

Dawaleh, v ise à renforcer ce

ministère-clé par une

réorganisation destinée à

rendre ses différents services

plus efficients.

Il s’agit pour le MEFI de mettre

en place de nouvelles

structures adaptées aux

nouvelles exigences en matière

de croissance et de

développement.

Le second texte adopté hier en

conseil des ministres est relatif

à la création du conseil

supérieur de la Statistique et

du comité des programmes

statistiques et de

méthodologies.

Ces deux organes, l’un

décisionnel, donc politique, et

l’autre, technique, ont pour

missions de permettre au pays

de se doter de structures

chargées d’assurer la

coordination des systèmes

statistiques nationaux en vue

de fournir aux administrations

publiques, aux institutions

internationales, aux chercheurs

et au public des informations

statistiques à jour.

Le troisième sujet à l’ordre du

jour de la séance d’hier

concernait une association de

la loi de 1901, l’Association

Paix et Lait, qui a donc été

reconnue d’utilité publique pour

les services appréciables qu’elle

rend au pays.

Un décret portant interdiction

d’extraire des matériaux dans

les zones de captage de la

nappe de Djibouti, présenté par

le ministère en charge des

ressources en eau, a

également été adopté.

Les entreprises et les

particuliers qui s’activent dans

ce domaine sont désormais

sommés de déplacer leurs

excavatrices hors des zones

protégées, sous peine de

s’exposer aux rigueurs de la loi.

Des projets d’Arrêté portant

affectation de parcelles de

terrain à trois départements

ministériels ont également été

approuvés.

15

EVENTS