Diplomatic Victory for the Horn of Africa
Ewnetu Haile
The weekend was a showcase of the revamped Ethiopian diplomacy at its best. When Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D.) announced his intention to start dialogue with the Eritrean government and forge a working relation during his maiden appearance at the parliament three months ago, nobody took him seriously. That is because former Prime Ministers Meles Zenawi and Hailemariam Desalegn called for dialogue with Eritrea but it only fell on deaf ears.
Eritrea’s positive response this time around has nothing to do with luck. The new government led by PM Abiy followed a genuine approach to solve problems, unite the people, cooperate with neighboring countries and develop the country. The process of reconciliation started by the new government has been sincere as it released political prisoners, bloggers, journalists and other prisoners of conscience. The government led by PM Abiy also recognized acts of torture and divisive moves by the government on society. Then they apologized for all the wrongs and promised to correct them. The changes achieved within the last three months have been unbelievable as Ethiopians throughout the country are going out to express their support for the swift positive changes engulfing the country.
Regionally, the new government led by PM Abiy sought to bolster economic integration. Especially the genuine and honest approach by Abiy Ahmed (Ph.D.) has made him an instant hit in the region and locally. He has revitalized relations with the Sudan, Kenya, Djibouti and Somalia. It is all these positive moves followed by the demonstrative decision to start implementing the Algiers decision that won the trust of the Eritreans.
It is remarkable that it took only three months for Abiy and his team to forge a strong relation with Eritrea, with whom Ethiopia kept a no war no peace policy for twenty years, and bring the people back together. Within the past ten days, PM Abiy went to Asmara to be received by a street full of Eritreans. That was then followed by a historic reception of President Isaias Afeworki in Addis Ababa matching that of Abiy’s Asmara trip. The bond between the two leaders is vividly strong.
The Eritrean embassy has already started operation in Addis Ababa. Steps are being taken for Ethiopia to start using the port of Assab shortly. The Ethiopian side of the road to Assab is already being maintained and is expected to be open for service soon. Ethiopian Airlines is also negotiating to buy 20% of the Eritrean Airlines. Ethiopian Airlines will resume flights to Asmara this week.
Considering the fact that the war between the two countries split families, the resumption of political ties, transportation and telecommunications services is expected to speed up people-to-people ties. As President Isaias Afeworki remarked in his speech at Addis Ababa’s millennium hall, “anyone who claims that Eritreans and Ethiopians are two people is a fool.” It is this strong social tie that creates the basis for rapid economic integration between the two states.
It is easy to see that Prime Minister Abiy’s ‘politics of addition’ has caught the region by storm after engulfing Ethiopia with a strong sense of unity. The Prime Minister’s visits to neighboring countries centered on strengthening economic and social integration. The kind of economic integration put forward by the new leadership is also noticeably different as it involves the shared ownership and administration of key organizations and resources.
Success in the new and heightened economic and social integration scheme in the region could create a more peaceful and prosperous horn of Africa region as economically viable endeavors would be sought collectively and harboring armed opposition would see its last days. Other diplomatic feats under PM Abiy include economic integration moves with Djibouti and the Sudan.
The Prime Minister’s first official trip abroad as head of government was Djibouti. His main message while in Djibouti was that the fates of the people of the two countries are tied together. He was spot on with that message as the passage of 98% of Ethiopia’s import/export through the port of Djibouti was complemented by Ethiopian cargos accounting for 80% of the total freight transited through the port of Djibouti. That shows the level of dependency the two countries have on each other.
During the PM’s visit, Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Meles Alem raised the fact that there are family members living across both sides of the border to assert that the people of Djibouti and Ethiopia are actually a single society under two sovereign states. He then pointed out that the two sides sought to forge a fitting economic relation to these close social ties. In this regard, he explained further, the Ethio-Djibouti railway is taken as a step in the right direction with the two sides agreeing to forge such common ownerships in irrigation and agricultural endeavors, roads, ports development, etc.
Promoting the economic integration of the two countries was a major agenda as the two leaders tasked their respective Ministers of economic development and cooperation with detailed research on the matter to be submitted within a year. The Prime Minister visited the Port of Djibouti, Doraleh Container Terminal (DCT) and the Djibouti Industrial Park. They importantly agreed to partner on port development. Some sources indicate that the port to be developed would be granted to Ethiopia in a rent-free lease. Other reports state that the agreement would allow Ethiopia to have shares in Djibouti Port and have a say on port fees. Djibouti would, on the other hand, have a stake in a preferred Ethiopian public enterprise expected to be one of Ethiopian Airlines or ethio-telecom.
The second country the new PM paid a visit to was the Sudan. While in the Sudan, the PM’s main agenda was once again economic integration. The social relations between the people of Ethiopia and those of the Sudan are also very close. The cross border relations between the two people are very fluid as the same ethnic groups live on either side of the border. Towards bolstering these relations, the two countries agreed to use the Ethiopian town of Assosa as a commercial centre. They also agreed to build a railway connecting Addis Ababa with Khartoum. Ethiopian prisoners in Sudan have also been released on the new PM’s request.
On our topic of ports, the PM agreed with Sudan to develop Port Sudan together. Accordingly, Ethiopia will be a shareholder of Port Sudan. Considering Ethiopia’s viable options of ports in neighboring countries include Assab, Port Sudan, Berbera, Mombasa, Lamu and Djibouti port, having a stake in Port Sudan is a big step in the Prime Minister’s plan to acquire all the options for future use.
With this increased level of social and economic engagement, the horn of Africa is on a fast track to achieve regional integration. The revamped interdependence between the states is expected to bring mutual prosperity and peace to the region.