According to the Spokesperson of the Ministry, Mr. Nebiyu Tedla, a few Embassies in Addis Ababa made a joint statement last week on the occasion of World Press Day that strayed from standard diplomatic protocol.
He further stated that the extraordinary growth of both new and established digital media outlets is evidence of Ethiopia’s government’s commitment to upholding press freedom. He underlined that Ethiopia welcomes constructive engagement with parties but resorting to paternalistic joint statement is unhelpful for the bilateral relations and it is discordant with acceptable diplomatic practice.
The briefing also mentioned the participation of Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE), H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, and his delegation in the International Development Association conference held in Nairobi, Kenya. The Ethiopian delegation delivered a significant message during the conference, as Mr. Nebiyu pointed out.
In reference to the conversation between the delegations headed by Alexandra Hill Tinoco, Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador, and H.E. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie, Mr. Nebiyu reaffirmed El Salvador’s intentions to establish an Embassy in Addis Ababa. The Spokesperson saw this as evidence that Addis Ababa is becoming a more important diplomatic hub.
Speaking about the meeting between the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Internal Displacement Solutions, Mr. Robert Piper, and Ambassador Mesganu Arga, the State Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, the Spokesperson brought up Mr. Piper’s admiration for the Ethiopian government’s capacity to relocate a large number of internally displaced people to their communities. The necessity of Ethiopia and the UN’s cooperation was also underlined in the conversation between the two sides.
The spokesperson concluded by discussing the key topics discussed at the meeting between H.E. Ambassador Mesganu Arga and H.E. Ambassador Hussain Awad, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of Sudan. Ambassador Hussain expressed his belief that Ethiopia would continue to keep up its significant contribution to the overall peace process in Sudan.
