Ethiopia: Nile Basin Framework Set

22 April 2013 , Source: Addis Fortune The House of People's Representatives discussed the draft proclamation that would ratify the Nile Basin Cooperation Framework Agreement, on Thursday, April 2013.The House then referred the draft proclamation to the Natural Resource and Environmental Protection Standing Committee of the Parliament for further assessment.The agreement was signed by Ethiopia, Kenya,Uganda, Rwand aand Tanzaniain May 2010 and by Burundi a year later. The signing of the agreement was kept open for an additional year in order to give time to the Sudan and Egypt. According to the agreement, ratification by six countries will allow an equitable utilization of Nile River between all the riparian states. The 1959 agreement between the Sudan and Egypt allocated the entire average annual flow of the Nile to be shared between the Sudan and Egypt at 18.5 and 55.5 billion cubic meters respectively, but ignored the rights to water of the remaining eight Nile countries.Ethiopia contributes 80pc of the total flow of the Nile, but according to the 1959 agreement, is entitled to none of its resources.The agreement enables the establishment of the Nile Basin Commission (NBC) through which member States will act jointly to manage and develop the resources of the famed river.

Ethiopia trying to restore lost heritage

Mar 31st, 2013 // AddisAddis Ababa, Ethiopia  - Ethiopia is battling to bring back more than three thousand artifacts scattered around the globe, a substantial part of its historic heritage.According to Wolde Darsema from the Heritage Authority, thousands of historic items, ranging from the monumental to the miniscule, are to be found in museums or in private hands in France, Israel, Vatican, Germany, Italy, the UK and elsewhere.The Authority said that in addition to the more obvious and better known items in museums it is also working to bring back artifacts in the hands of individuals through diplomatic channels: it is also trying to purchase articles or persuade people to present them as a gift.Efforts so far have managed to recover the Axum Obelisk, the gold Lalibela cross and a handful of other historic items.Wolde Darsema said that the task of recovering many of these items was particularly difficult as many are in private hands, and museums remain reluctant to part with items however obtained.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is cooperating with the Heritage Management Authority, and the MoFA Spokesperson, Ambassador Dina, says the Ministry is working to obtain the return of various artifacts through bilateral channels.(MoFA)

Ethiopia gets $1 billion fuel from Sudan

Ethiopia receiving massive oil imports from Sudan.ADDIS ABABA: It comes via Djibouti and has the Ethiopian government optimistic that energy needs in the country are to be met. According to some here in Addis Ababa, the move by Sudan to export some one million metric tons of petrol to their East African neighbor is part of efforts to help reduce the need to move fast on building the massive Renaissance Dam project that has left much of the Nile Basin tense.“I think this is a positive step on both sides,” an Ethiopian government consultant told Bikyanews.com. “It shows that we as a region are willing to compromise and meet goals without causing unduly harm. Considering the dam project and the anger from Khartoum and Cairo over it, helping give us energy needs is positive.”Officials reported the amount of fuel that has been imported equals $1.12 billion over the past 6 months.And it isn’t expected to curtail in the near future, the consultant said. He argued that over the next 6 months, Ethiopia expects to receive a similar amount of fuel to help meet the growing economy of the East African country.The fuel imported during first half of the Ethiopian fiscal year was a rise of 21 percent in comparison to the same period last year.According to EPSE’s spokesperson, Alemayehu Tsegaye, the imported 1,091,823 metric tonnes of fuel surpasses the initial planned target of 1,093, 073 metric tonnes.Ethiopia imports up to 85 percent of its annual oil consumption from neighboring Sudan, largely due to its geographic proximity. This recent report shows that Sudan is making a push to increase the total in order to dissuade the country from continuing to move fast on its dam project, which Khartoum and Cairo say threatens their water availability.The Horn of Africa nation saves at least $10 million in transit related costs per year by using Sudanese oil sources rather than importing from markets further afield, such as the Middle East.During the stated period of the budget year, Ethiopia has also imported over 125,000 metric tons of coal and spent over $20 million on maintaining sustainable energy supplies for manufacturing and industry.Over 50 percent of Ethiopia’s imports are to meet the nation’s fuel demand.BN