• Austria’s Presidential State Visit

• As Eritrea holds UNMEE hostage, Foreign Minister Seyoum calls for sanctions on Eritrea

• The UN Security Council extends AMISOM’s mandate

• Prime Minister Meles pledges more funds for the regions

• The World Bank on Ethiopia’s economic success story

• Environmental impact of the Gibe III project

• This week, Austria’s President, Dr. Heinz Fischer has been on the first state visit by an Austrian President to Ethiopia. On Thursday, Dr. Fischer and President Girma Woldegiorgis held talks on ways to foster bilateral relations and cooperation. President Girma detailed the forthcoming local elections, and the by elections, being held in April; and briefed President Fischer on the activities of the Office of the Ombudsman and the Human Rights Commission. President Fischer said that his three-day visit to Ethiopia would deepen bilateral ties and also enhance relations between Austria and Africa. The President visited a museum and planted trees in the garden of the National Palace, taking the opportunity to show support to the forestation drive of the New Millennium “Two trees for 2000” project. The President also had an audience with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at which bilateral as well as regional issues were discussed. During the visit, the governments of Austria and Ethiopia signed a 28.5 million euro bilateral cooperation accord under the Indicative Country Program, 2008-2012. The fund will provide rural development and food security in North Gondar zone, basic health services in the Somali Regional State, and the installation of social amenities to improve living conditions for low-income groups. During his visit President Fischer also visited the African Union Commission, and delivered a speech to the Diplomatic Community at the AU Commission.  President Girma Woldegiorgis hosted a state banquet at the National Palace in honor of the visiting president and his high level delegation. Austria is a candidate to a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council.

• On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Seyoum wrote to the President of the Security Council concerning the Government of Eritrea’s open defiance of the Security Council. He called on the Council to take appropriate action against Eritrea as a matter of extreme urgency, including the imposition of punitive sanctions. Minister Seyoum pointed out that Eritrean actions were deliberately designed to humiliate the United Nations Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), and enforce the removal of UNMEE from the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ). Eritrea, he added, was deliberately putting Mission personnel at severe risk, and threatening to hold the entire Mission hostage. He underlined the fact that Eritrea had taken over the TSZ, created by the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, an agreement signed by Eritrea and Ethiopia in June 2000 and endorsed by the Security Council. All this, Minister Seyoum underlined, raised fundamental issues of serious concern for the United Nations and indeed for the very future of UN peace-keeping operations as well as the authority of the Security Council. The immediate implications for peacekeeping operations around the world were deeply disturbing. Eritrea’s treatment of UNMEE was unprecedented in over 50 years of UN Peace-keeping. It constituted a most grave violation of the UN Charter, setting an extremely dangerous precedent.

Minister Seyoum recalled that it was the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities which had established the TSZ and provided for the mandate and deployment of UNMEE. The Agreement guaranteed the integrity of the Temporary Security Zone (article 14) and constituted the foundation of the Algiers peace process. Minister Seyoum’s letter noted that the guarantee included measures “to be taken by the international community should one or both of the Parties violate this commitment, including appropriate measures to be taken under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter by the UN Security Council…”.  Other elements of the guarantee included the creation of UNMEE and its activities in the Temporary Security Zone. All of this had been endorsed by the United Nations as one of the Witnesses to the Agreement.  

Minister Seyoum pointed out that notwithstanding these guarantees, and the UN’s commitment to the Agreement by the establishment of UNMEE, the Security Council had repeatedly failed to take any action, and it was this that had led to the present humiliating and ignominious position of UNMEE, emboldening Eritrea to stop fuel and food supplies and effectively expel the Mission from the Temporary Security Zone while preventing it from seeking temporary shelter on the Ethiopian side of the border. 

Eritrea, the Minister underlined, had consistently and flagrantly violated the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities from its inception. It failed to sign the Status of Forces Agreement with UNMEE and had steadily and persistently increased its infiltration of troops and heavy weaponry into the TSZ. It had subsequently introduced restrictions on UNMEE helicopter flights, expelled members of UNMEE on the basis of their nationality, and imposed additional restrictions on UNMEE operations, most recently refusing to supply fuel and now food.  

Minister Seyoum said that Ethiopia now believed it had become necessary for the Security Council to take action to discharge its responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations and under the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities. Ethiopia now expected the Security Council to move quickly to enforce Eritrean compliance with the demands of the Security Council, to restore the full and complete integrity of the Temporary Security Zone and of UNMEE, and to ensure the safety of all UNMEE personnel.  

• The following day, Ambassador Araya Desta, the Eritrean Permanent Representative to the United Nations, effectively issued an ultimatum to the United Nations with regard to the situation of UNMEE personnel in Eritrea. In a letter to the President of the Security Council, the Ambassador said: “Eritrea cannot be blamed for lack of co-operation if its views and concerns are disregarded…Eritrea wishes to underline that coordination and cooperation is necessary on vital issues to ensure the orderly and dignified handling of the situation.” The letter complained that the decision to regroup UNMEE troops in Asmara had been done unilaterally by the United Nations and that the Eritrean government had not been informed in advance. It demanded “full and complete information on the future plans of the Mission” before Eritrea would respond. The letter alleged that the UN had been concentrating on what it called “peripheral issues”, and. accused the press offices of the United Nation, and of other international media of “leveling unfounded accusations about UNMEE’s situation. The letter described the refusal to supply fuel to the Mission as a purely technical issue, but otherwise made no reference to any of the increasing restrictions Eritrea has imposed on the operations of UNMEE over the last two or three years, including the ban on helicopter flights. It entirely ignored the issue of food supplies to UNMEE, and the refusal of the Eritrean authorities to allow UNMEE personnel to cross the border into Ethiopia in the last few days, and the reports of equipment being impounded at the border.

It is clear from Eritrea’s latest communication to the President of the Security Council and the latest actions of the Eritrean Government that one member state, for the first time in the history of the United Nations, and in open defiance of the Security Council, is intending to hold UN Peacekeepers hostage. What is now at stake is not just the fate of these Peacekeepers but the very future of UN Peacekeeping and the authority of the Security Council itself. A failure to act by the Security Council threatens to undermine the whole concept of international peace-keeping and the confidence of all the counties which regularly contribute troops to the peacekeeping forces. The present situation can be seen as having arisen specifically from the Security Council’s previous failures to confront the measures taken by Eritrea against UNMEE, in violation of the Algiers Agreements, and in despite numerous Security Council Resolutions. The Council was expected to take action under Chapter VII of the Charter, pursuant to Article 14 of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities. The two parties themselves mandated the Council to do so as one of the guarantees of the Agreement. The Council’s failure to discharge its responsibility has had direct implications for the present situation. It is in these circumstances that Ethiopia now believes there is no alternative to immediate and punitive sanctions against Eritrea, to protect the personnel of UNMEE, and to ensure that the Security Council discharges its proper responsibilities under the UN Charter, and under the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities.  

This was underlined by the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Tekeda Alemu, when he met the resident Ambassadors of the Security Council permanent and non-permanent members on Wednesday. The State Minister emphasized that the timidity of the Security Council had contributed to the humiliation that UNMEE was now suffering  

• On Wednesday, the UN Security Council extended the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) by a further six months. AMISOM, set up in February 2007, is tasked with providing protection for the Transitional Federal Institutions to help them carry out the function of government, provide security for key posts, and assist in achieving national reconciliation and facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid. The Security Council, in a unanimous statement, called on AU member states to contribute to the Mission, to “help facilitate the full withdrawal of other foreign forces from Somalia” and contribute to create conditions for lasting peace and security. The Security Council expressed its intent to meet on Somalia again promptly after the Secretary-General’s forthcoming report on March 10. This will include specific options to strengthen the UN’s Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) and further support for the full deployment of AMISOM. The report is also due to include options to prepare for a possible deployment of a UN Peacekeeping force to take over from AMISOM. The statement reiterated the need for a comprehensive cessation of hostilities and a road map for the remainder of the transitional process including free and democratic elections in 2009.

Somali Prime Minister Nur Hassan ‘Adde’ this week repeated once again his government’s readiness to talk to those who were fighting in Mogadishu, making it clear that the government wanted full and complete national reconciliation. “Nobody”, he said, “is exempted from negotiations”. The Prime Minister called on the elders, religious leaders, women, youth and Somali intellectuals to contribute in pacifying the nation. The Prime Minister arrived back in Mogadishu at the end of last week after what officials described as a successful overseas trip which had taken him to Nairobi, Brussels and Paris. He was given significant support for the commitment of the TFG to reconciliation, to strengthening the security sector and increasing the capacity of the TFG. He was also able to reiterate his agenda for reconciliation, underlining the need for strengthening AMISOM, and attaining the agenda of the transitional institutions. 

Meanwhile, a high level delegation of TFG officials will be arriving in Addis Ababa this weekend for a public finance management training course to be held over several weeks at the Ethiopian Management Institute at Debre Zeit. The course will be opened by the Minister of Finance and Development, Ato Sufian Ahmed. Observers at the course are expected to include the AU Commission, the AU Chairperson, as well as representatives from the EU Troika, the US, China, Japan and UNDP.   

• Prime Minister Meles Zenawi this week pledged to scale up Government support to the federal states to ensure “a leap forward” in good governance and to keep up the momentum of economic growth achieved over the past few year. Addressing a conference on development and good governance that brought together scholars, farmers and urban officials from all administrative levels in the Amhara regional state, the Prime Minister stressed the impact that correct government policies had had on the economic gains. Apart from successes registered in education, health and other sectors, he said that progress had been made in entrenching democracy and promoting good governance. To help boost efforts in this regard, the Federal Government would increase assistance to the regional states to foster development and reinvigorate capacity building. Participants at the conference appreciated the gains made in improved access to social service facilities and significant infrastructural developments. They called for more resources on roads, electrification, telecommunications and education, which were identified as catalysts for sustainable growth. Prime Minister Meles assured delegates that people at the grass roots would be the beneficiaries of all development schemes. He said by June next year more than seven million people would be mobile phone subscribers; three million others would be connected by fixed lines.

• On Monday, Prime Minister Meles called on the Ethiopian people to repeat the resounding victory they had won over the former authoritarian regime in the current war on poverty and impoverishment. The Prime Minister was speaking at a huge rally celebrating the 33^rd founding anniversary of the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) at the place of its birth, Dedebit in Tigray Regional State. He pointed out that at that time no one could have predicted that the small founding group, with only a few guns, would beat the Dergue and its half million strong army. This was possible only because of arduous struggle and the payment of heavy sacrifices. The Prime Minister reiterated the determination of the Government to see the drive for sustainable peace, democracy and development through to a successful end. He again urged all the citizens of Ethiopia to join hands to realize real prosperity in Ethiopia and an end to poverty.

• A World Bank delegation, led by Executive Director Giovani Majnoni,  held discussions with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Ato Sofian Ahmed, and other senior officials over the weekend. The delegation, on a two day visit, described cooperation between Ethiopia and the World Bank as “incredibly successful”: the World Bank appreciated the economic management of the Government and described it as “brilliant”.  Underlining the fact that the Bank was a major supporter of Ethiopia's development efforts, Director Majnoni said “Ethiopia definitely has a success story. And the Bank will try to do whatever it can to help this success to continue". The delegation discussed ways of further enhancement of cooperation, and focused on how to improve and speed up delivery of bank services.

The World Bank is a key development partner for Ethiopia. Since the beginning of its cooperation with Ethiopia, the World Bank group has approved a total of US $ 5.8 billion for 117 development projects and programs. Its support has been directed towards achieving sustainable economic growth. It has also undertaken a significant number of important studies to help the government to address different developmental and policy issues. The Bank’s current portfolio of projects amounts to US $ 2.1 billion supporting implementation of 22 projects. 

The World Bank’s active projects are fully aligned with Ethiopia’s objectives of promoting economic growth and poverty reduction, covering pro-poor growth, infrastructural and human resource development, capacity building, the provision of basic services and increasing agricultural productivity. Nearly 50% of the Bank’s current activity is allocated to infrastructural development, for roads and power. The World Bank supports the direction, contents and targets of Ethiopia’s Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP). Current Bank interventions are aligned with PASDEP objectives. A dialogue is currently taking place to discuss the Country Assistance Strategy Paper (CAS) for 2008-2010 which is under preparation. In its World Development Report of 2007, the World Bank unambiguously endorsed Ethiopia’s long-term national development strategy. Under this, Ethiopia has been exerting maximum efforts to bring about a fundamental transformation of the economy and achieve sustainable, rapid and all-inclusive economic development in the country. Its efforts, together with a stable macroeconomic environment and cultivation of  private sector development, have resulted in impressive and broad based economic growth over the past four years.    

Sustaining this impressive performance and building on these achievements, the country anticipates becoming a middle income country within the next twenty or so years. Ethiopia will leave no stone unturned to achieve this vision; it also has a firm belief that its development partners, including the World Bank, will be prepared to enhance their support, by scaling-up resource allocations. Ethiopia welcomes the expressed commitment by Executive Director Majnoni that the Bank would do whatever possible to help Ethiopia's success story continue. Ethiopia now calls upon other development partners to follow the example of the World Bank, to bolster their support, and intensify their development partnership. 

• The largest single infrastructural development being undertaken in Ethiopia today is the Gigel Gibe III dam. Formally launched by President Girma Wolde Giorghis in January, the project is scheduled for completion in 2012. It will add another 1,870 MW capacity, and 6,400 GWh average energy, to Ethiopia’s energy capacity. As with a number of major power projects round the world, some environmental concerns have been raised, as the Addis Ababa paper Fortune noted at the beginning of February: “Aid for Gibel Gibe III challenged.” The paper claimed “thousands of farmers” could be driven from their land, though the direct impact will affect no more than a few hundred pastoralists. In fact, the Environmental and Social Impart Assessment Study indicates that the project, in an area of low population, will have significant local benefits. It will contribute to flood control on the Gibe-Omo cascade which suffers from significant flooding downstream. The creation of a 200 square kilometer reservoir will allow for the establishment of commercial fisheries, previously difficult to organize on the river. Some 5,000 job opportunities will be created by the construction. The study has identified that some 400 pastoralists will lose access to grazing lands; a detailed Relocation Action Plan is under preparation. Public consultations are being carried out by environmental teams in the surrounding area to ensure local involvement and awareness in the project. The environmental impact assessments on the other Gibe projects were excellent; indeed Gibe I was classified by World Bank experts as a model. Gibe I, implemented in 2004, was financed by the European Investment Bank, which is being asked to help fund Gibe III. A major advantage of the Gibe III project, ignored by the newspaper’s comments, is the role it will play in the export of energy to neighboring countries. A number of agreements for export of energy to Sudan, Djibouti and Kenya are being finalized, and first export of energy is expected to start next year. Construction of transmission works for the Ethiopian-Djibouti interconnection project, financed by the African Development Bank, has started; the Ethiopian-Sudan link is at the final procurement stage and World Bank financing has been agreed; and the Ethio-Kenyan interconnection project is now in the design stage with tenders called for. The surplus from Gibe III is expected to feed into the link to Kenya. The project is seen as an essential element in progress towards self-sufficiency in energy production, and a significant step towards poverty eradication.

       Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

                     Ministry of Foreign Affairs