Ethiopia Shared $5 billion counterterrorism Partnerships fund

Ethiopia Shared $5 billion counterterrorism Partnerships fund 

New York (HAN)September 26, 2014, Public Diplomacy and Regional strateic defense and Security news. President Obama meets with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailermariam Desalegn. Presdent Obama has spent much of the week discussing his counterterrorism plans, including airstrikes in Syria, Somalia and Iraq against the jihadist group known as the Islamic State and Islamic militants of Al-Shabaab in Southern Somalia.

After he finished UN General Assembly speech and before returning to Washington, D.C.,  President  Obama had bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn of Ethiopia. Topics ranged from the Horn of Africa peace efforts to counter-terrorism and economic development.

President Obama delivered remarks at a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Hailermariam Desalegn of the Federal 

On May this year, Obama, in his West Point speech, announced that he asked Congress to support a new Counterterrorism Partnerships Fund .

The Obama administration first requested the $5 billion fund earlier this summer, it asked for $2.5 billion to train and equip international partners and $1.5 billion for Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq to help with the influx of refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria. While both amounts would bolster efforts against ISIS, they would not cover additional U.S. military strikes.

The request also included $500 million “to address unforeseen contingencies related to counterterrorism or regional instability,” the White House says, and that amount could be expanded to help fund U.S. bombing against ISIS targets in Iraq or Syria.

Speach of President Obama:

For the foreseeable future, the most direct threat to America at home and abroad remains terrorism. But a strategy that involves invading every country that harbors terrorist networks is naïve and unsustainable. I believe we must shift our counterterrorism strategy — drawing on the successes and shortcomings of our experience in Iraq and Afghanistan — to more effectively partner with countries where terrorist networks seek a foothold.

And the need for a new strategy reflects the fact that today’s principal threat no longer comes from a centralized al Qaeda leadership. Instead, it comes from decentralized al Qaeda affiliates and extremists, many with agendas focused in countries where they operate. And this lessens the possibility of large-scale 9/11-style attacks against the homeland, but it heightens the danger of U.S. personnel overseas being attacked, as we saw in Benghazi. It heightens the danger to less defensible targets, as we saw in a shopping mall in Nairobi.

So we have to develop a strategy that matches this diffuse threat, one that expands our reach without sending forces that stretch our military too thin, or stir up local resentments. We need partners to fight terrorists alongside us. And empowering partners is a large part of what we have done and what we are currently doing in Somalia.

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Ethiopia addresses the major peace and security threats in Africa

Ethiopia addresses the major peace and security threats in Africa

New York (HAN)September 26, 2014, Public Diplomacy and Regional Security news.  A high level ministerial meeting of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union was held on Wednesday in New York on the situation in Libya, Somalia and Nigeria.  ministerial meeting discussed the AU Commission Chairperson’s report as well as the statement of the AU’s Special Envoy for Libya, Dileita Mohamed Dileita, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Djibouti, and statements by the representatives of Egypt and Algeria, the chairs of the subcommittees established by a meeting of Libya’s neighbors in Tunisia in July.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister, who welcomed the consultations of the AU Special Envoy,  with Libyan stakeholders and neighboring countries, expressed his appreciation for the efforts being made for a ministerial visit to Libya providing the opportunity to thoroughly assess the situation and chart the way forward.

Ethiopian Foreign minister  Tedros said Libya has been passing through a very difficult transition period and the prevailing situation was a matter of serious concern, posing a serious danger to the unity of the country and its long-term future.

The unrest and the emergence and strengthening of violent extremist groups in the wider region, was also a major peace and security threat for the whole continent. The African Union, in consultation with the countries of the region, must assume a leadership role in resolving the crisis. Dr. Tedros emphasized there could be no military solution. He called for an inclusive dialogue to re-launch and complete the current transition on the basis of the respect for the constitutional declaration of August 2011, commitment to the democratic process, and unequivocal rejection of terrorism. He said the crisis in Libya and the regional ramification was something Africa could not afford to ignore. Recent developments in the wider Middle Eastern region made it abundantly clear that when state institutions fail, fringe groups with extremist ideology get opportunities to grow.

Resolution of the Libyan crisis should be given utmost priority. Dileita Mohamed Dileita, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Djibouti called on the Peace and Security Council to reaffirm its resolve to fight terrorism and violent extremism and to encourage genuine national dialogue to accommodate the concerns of all sectors of Libyan society as a matter of urgency. Ethiopian Foreign minister  Tedros assured the Council that Ethiopia was ready to contribute its share in resolution of the crisis in Libya

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Saudi billionaire's firm plans $500m Ethiopia investment

An Ethiopian agricultural company, majority-owned by Saudi billionaire Mohamed al-Amoudi, plans to invest at least $500 million in coffee and orange projects, it has been reported.

Horizon Plantations Ethiopia will train workers, improve roads and replace washing units at the Limmu and Bebeka coffee plantations, Bloomberg reported, quoting general operations director Kemal Mohammed.

It said the plan to almost double annual revenue within three years is part of a five-year programme to invest in projects that also include Upper Awash Agro-Industry Enterprise, the country's largest orange grower.

"We are sure because of the initiatives we have now, because of the inputs and techniques we're applying, the productivity will increase to the maximum at the end of the five years," Kemal was quoted as saying.

Al-Amoudi, born in Ethiopia to an Ethiopian mother and Saudi father, is one of the country's largest foreign investors and operates its biggest cement factory and only large-scale gold mine.

Horizon, which is part of al-Amoudi's Midroc group of companies, is looking for a foreign partner to invest in the Coffee Processing and Warehouse Enterprise on the outskirts of the capital, Bloomberg added.

Last year, Al Amoudi, Saudi Arabia's second richest businessman with an estimated wealth of $8.7bn, plans to build two new cement factories in Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Airlines orders 20 Boeing aircraft

Ethiopian Airlines orders 20 Boeing aircraft

Nairobi; Kenya: Ethiopian Airlines has ordered 20 Boeing 737 MAX 8s aircraft estimated to cost more than $2.1 billion (Sh180 billion). The  order includes options and purchase rights for a further 15 737 MAX 8s, representing the largest single Boeing order, by number of airplanes, from an African carrier. “The order underlines our commitment to our 15-year strategic plan, ‘Vision 2025’, in which Ethiopian will strive to become the leading airline group in Africa carrying 18 million passengers per annum,” Ethiopian Airlines Chief Executive Tewolde Gebremariam, said. He was speaking during a visit to the Association for the Promotion of Tourism to Africa National Forum in Chicago. “The 737 MAX will form a key component of that strategic vision, enhancing our single-aisle fleet and keeping us at the forefront of African aviation.” The 737 MAX incorporates the latest technology aimed to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market.

Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000136354/ethiopian-airlines-orders-20-boeing-aircraft

UN chief lauds Ethiopia's role in Somalia, South Sudan

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Friday thanked Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn here for his country's "constructive role" in bringing peace to Somalia and South Sudan.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the annual high- level debate of the UN General Assembly, which opened here Wednesday, Xinhua quoted Ban's spokesperson as telling reporters here.

Ethiopia has been playing a major role in brokering peace in Somalia and South Sudan.

In August, the South Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition signed the Implementation Matrix of the Jan 23 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

The signing took place in Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa during the summit of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa on South Sudan.

The secretary-general and the prime minister, who is also chairperson of the African Union, emphasised the importance of strengthened cooperation and coordination to collectively address the rising threat of extremism, the spokesman added.

Followers of Ethiopian Orthodox Church colorfully celebrate True Cross

  Followers of Ethiopian Orthodox Church colorfully celebrate True Cross

Addis Ababa, 26 September 2014 (WIC) - Followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church colorfully celebrated Demera’ (bonfire)  today at Meskel Square. 

Hundreds of thousands of Orthodox Christianity believers in Addis Ababa participated in the bonfire celebrations of  the finding of the True Cross (Meskel Festival) accompanied by a number of  government officials, tourists and Foreign Diplomats.

In his remark, His  Holiness Arch Bishop Mathias, the Patriarch of  Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church said that we have to renew our  vows  to  exert efforts  in realizing the development and  peace  of  the nation while celebrating  Meskel Festivity.

This  year’s celebration  differs from the previous ones for  Ethiopian  ‘Meskel Festival’  has already  registered  as  world heritage  by the United Nations Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO),  he said.
The Bishop forwarded his congratulatory message to all Ethiopians for that achievement.
“The development of the country has emanated from the unity, peace and togetherness of all Ethiopians,” the Bishop said.

Deputy mayor of  Addis  Ababa  City Abate Setotaw ,on his part said  that the registration of Ethiopian ‘Meskel’ as world   heritage has a significant role not only in building the  positive  image  but also  help to boost   tourism.

Ethiopia is well known for its religious tolerance for years, the Deputy Mayor said, adding that as religious freedom and equality has already guaranteed and respected, the people should strive against poverty.
Ethiopians have been celebrating this day for millennium following Eleni excavated the True Cross in Jerusalem.

It was known that in the year 326, Queen Helena (Empress Helen) the Mother of Constantine the Great, discovered the cross upon which Christ was crucified. Unable to find the Holy Sepulchre, she prayed for help and was directed by the smoke from a burning fire as to where the cross was buried.

After unearthing the Holy Cross, Queen Helena lit torches heralding her success.  In the Middle Ages, the Patriarch of Alexandria gave the Ethiopian Emperor Dawit half of the True Cross in return for protection afforded to the Coptic Christians.  A fragment of the True Cross is reputedly held at the Gishen Mariam, about 70 kilometers northwest of Dessie.

Advanced weather information crucial for agriculture, aviation security: Ministry

  Advanced weather information crucial for agriculture, aviation security: Ministry

Addis Ababa, 26 September 2014 (WIC) – Water, Irrigation and Energy Minister Alemayehu Tegenu said that advanced weather information crucial for agriculture, aviation security.

Opening a two-day consultative meeting organized by the Ethiopian Meteorological Agency (EMA),  Alemayehu stressed the need to enhance climate information for sustaining agriculture and aviation security as well as to safely keep up with water development, tourism, industry, transport, construction and other sectors.

At a meeting which brought together stakeholders and people from different walks of life, the Minister commended the progress the agency has shown through time increasingly contributing to the nation's economic development.

Alemayehu added that the meeting is held every three month to enable the agency gather feedback from stakeholders with respect to its performance in the five year Growth and Transformation Plan so as to use it as an input for the second GTP.

According to Alemayehu, in tandem with the fast growing aviation industry, the agency is providing twenty four hour weather information service as well as early warning to prevent international flights from consequences of threatening weather conditions.

However, he says, much has to be done to advance weather reports so as to sustain the development of the aviation industry.

Director for Meteorological Forecast and Early Warning Directorate, Dr. Diriba Koricha also told The Ethiopian Herald that the performance of the agency in early warning system has significantly improved mainly due to the due emphasis the government gave to the agency and due to the modern satellite technologies that are enabling it share weather forecasts from international climate prediction centers.

Dr. Diriba said that regional directorates of the agency will be connected with the head office in Addis Ababa through technology network expected to pave way for the user to get access to weather information fast and easily from own locality using own language.

Asked about last summer season rainfall condition, Dr. Diriba said that northern and central parts of Ethiopia which include, Tigray, Amhara, Benshangul Gumuz, and western parts of Oromia have received the highest rainfall on the annual scale.

He added that Central parts of Oromia as well as northern areas of SNNP State have received better rainfall. However, Eastern Shoa, Hararge and Arsi zones got somewhat low rainfall in the beginning of the rainy season which would have caused impact on crops had it not received high rainfall in the middle of last 'Keremt' season. (EH)