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

ews HortiFlora Expo Ethiopia 2013 To The Next Level

HortiFlora Expo Ethiopia 2013 To The Next Level - PerishableNby HortiFlora Expo Wednesday, March 27, 2013 at 3:17PM EDTAddis Ababa - The 5th edition of HortiFlora Expo Ethiopia closed its doors last Friday and concluded satisfactory results for most of its exhibitors.

President Obama Meets with First-Ever Ethiopian Crowned Miss Israel

A few weeks ago, more than a quarter of all Israeli TV viewers watched the judges announce the new Miss Israel of 2013.Titi is her name, short for Yityish Aynaw. She was the only black finalist in this year’s beauty pageant and she has become Israel’s first black beauty queen. She’s tall, commanding, and outspoken.“It’s time that someone from my community, someone with my skin color, who is Israeli just like everyone else, represent the country,” Aynaw said.What captivated the judges was not only her beauty, but also her life story.Born in a small town, Titi was orphaned by the time she was about 10. She moved to Israel to live with her grandparents, who had already left Ethiopia for a new life here.Titi said as an Ethiopian Jew, she grew up with stories about the Land of milk and honey, but her new life in Israel wasn’t all milk and honey.

President Obama Meets with First-Ever Ethiopian Crowned Miss Israel | PRI's The World

Samsung Set to Open Assembly

18 March 2013 ,
Source: Government of Ethiopia

Samsung, today (March 18), announced that it has concluded an agreement with the Ethiopian government to establish a laptop and printer assembly plant in the country over the next few months. The announcement was made during the Fourth International Samsung Conference in Cape Town, South Africa. Samsung Electronics East Africa's Chief Operating Officer, Robert Ngeru said "We have finalized the agreement with officials from the Metal and Engineering Corporation and officials from other government bodies". According to Ngeru, Samsung has also finalized agreements to assemble television sets and refrigerators in the country. Additionally, by partnering with MultiChoice Ethiopia, Samsung plans to offer consumers purchasing Samsung Televisions an inbuilt decoder. Accordingly, Samsung customers will get a free decoder with every purchased television set, thereby enabling them to enjoy the benefits of digital TV immediately

Ethiopia Considering Additional Dry Ports

Tuesday, 19 March 2013 A study commissioned by the Maritime Affairs Authority (MAA) has recommended the construction of 12 additional dry ports. The number of ports recommended may vary when the final study is completed in two weeks and submitted to the Ministry of Transport.Construction of additional dry port is in line with the Ethiopian  government’s target to build 35 ports by the end of the Growth & Transformation Plan (GTP) period in 2014/15, according to Ahmed Tussa, chief executive officer of the Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE).Construction of the new dry ports could begin as early as next year, if the MoT approves the proposal, according to Ahmed, who spoke to journalists during a press conference on port expansion activities on Tuesday, March 12, 2013.Four of the 12 suggested dry ports will be located in Amhara region,  Oromia, Somalia, Gambella and Southern regions.Ethiopia started developing dry ports following a 2007 study by the then Ministry of Transport & Communication (MoTC), which suggested that the country could save foreign currency from seaport expenses at Djibouti, by building an in-land port within the country. Such ports handle the customs inspections, documentation of cargo and packaging for import and export. The saving, according to the study, could be seven to eight dollars for every container that’s transported through Djibouti.

Source: Fortune

Chinese rail in Ethiopia to replace historic French line

The old French-built railway that connected Addis Ababa, the capital of landlocked Ethiopia, to the Red Sea port of Djibouti, is now being replaced by a Chinese-built electrified railway, a bold project that seeks to boost Ethiopia's commercial exports.The new project also symbolises a shift in Ethiopia's international relations. Read more below
Chinese rail in Ethiopia to replace historic French line - FRANCE 24

Ethiopia's Benefit under the EU's Preference Scheme Extended

Tuesday, 05 March Written by Meraf Leykun Tuesday, 05 March 2013 Ethiopian producers and companies are set to increase their exports to the European Union as a result of a new change in the Generalized System of Preference agreement scheduled to take effect in January 2014.The changes made to the new GSP will benefit Ethiopia by avoiding its competitors which previously used to benefit under the GSP scheme.Ines Escudero Sanchez, Director General for Trade at the European Union, informed journalists at a press briefing held at the premises of the European Union (EU) in Addis Ababa on Monday, February 25, that the Generalized System of Preference agreement  has  been reviewed and the changes will take effect as of 1st of January, 2014. “Most of the countries that will no longer benefit from the GSP agreement are competitors of Ethiopia, since they provide the EU market with products that are also supplied by Ethiopia. For Ethiopia, the GSP agreement will still be in effect.”Sanchez also recommended that, Ethiopian suppliers should boost there exports to the European Union Market both in terms of quality and quantity to fully benefit from the opportunity. The European Union Business Forum to Ethiopia (EUBFE), a forum representing 300 European Union companies, is working to  strengthen economic and trade ties between Europe and Ethiopia, according to Chris de Myunk, President of the forum.In a related news, the European Union Delegation and EUBFE held a three day training, from February 25-27, for producers and business companies in Ethiopia, both local and international,  to enhance their know-how and upgrade their knowledge on how to better export to the EU.The EU, the world’s largest single market with more than 500 million consumers and a share of around 20 percent of global imports to its members, has bestowed a wide range of preferential arrangements for least-developed countries including African, Caribbean and Pacific states (ACP). Ethiopia currently is benefiting from the GSP agreement, a preference for countries which have not concluded the relevant negotiations for a comprehensive or interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). In 2011 alone, 43 percent of the Ethiopia's exports were destined to the European Union. Source: Capital

Ethiopia: Saudi Arabia Said Relations With Ethiopia Excellent

6 March 2013 , Source: Government of Ethiopia Saudi Arabia's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, has said relations between Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia are at an excellent level. In a press statement released by the Saudi's Foreign Ministry on March 4, the Foreign Minister "confirmed the deep-rooted and long standing relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Ethiopia".He said: "The first Hijra (migration) in Islam was to Abyssinia, and the ties between the people of the two countries have had a long standing and prestigious history". The Foreign Minister noted that there is a growing "development of relations with Abyssinia, which culminated right now to reach an excellent level of cooperation in various fields", including the significant widening of trade between the two countries and growing investment relations. Last week, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Finance, Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, visited Addis Ababa for talks with Prime Minister Hailemariam and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Ato Sufian Ahmed, and signed an agreement on double taxation.Prince Saud Al-Faisal also noted that Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Ethiopia were working closely to calm the situation in the Horn of Africa, and the two countries recently signed an agreement to cooperate on a whole range of issues. A recent statement by Saudi Arabia's Deputy Minister of Defense in Cairo that Ethiopia's Renaissance Dam had the potential to affect downstream countries adversely, led the government to ask for an explanation from the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Addis Ababa. The Ambassador expressed his belief that the comments of the Deputy Minister would not be the views of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The 1896 Battle of Adwa: 117 Years Ago Colonial Ambitions Were Put in Check

In 1896, eleven years after the Berlin Conference, the Ethiopian army decisively defeated the Italian military at the Battle of Adwa. - See more below 
The 1896 Battle of Adwa: 117 Years Ago Colonial Ambitions Were Put in Check at Tadias Magazine

South Sudan to export crude oil by road through Ethiopia

South Sudan to export crude oil by road through Ethiopia: News-africareview.com

Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia Concluded Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement

Written by Meraf LeykunFriday, 01 March 2013 13:09
Ethiopia signed two loan agreements worth USD 25 million with the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) and the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) this past Thursday. Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia has also signed double taxation avoidance agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the same date.The loan agreement is to finance rural electrification projects in Gode-Kebridehar aimed at providing electricity to remote areas in the Somali Regional State of Ethiopia.Finance and Economic Development Minister Sufian Ahmed and Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf and Chairman of Boards of Directors of the BADEA and the Saudi Fund for Development, Eng. Yousef Ibrahim signed the agreements.Finance minister Sufian said the double taxation avoidance agreement will contribute to attract foreign capital, promote domestic productivity. The agreement will help create suitable environment for investment and economic growth between the two countries, he said.
Source: ENA 

Ethiopian-Israeli Wins Miss Israel 2013

21-year-old model Yityish Aynaw, a former IDF officer, made aliyah some 10 years ago.Yityish Aynaw, a former Israeli army officer, has become the first Ethiopian-born Israeli to win the Miss Israel pageant.A panel of judges awarded the title to Aynaw, a 21-year-old model who came to Israel about a decade ago, at the International Convention Center Haifa on Wednesday."It's important that a member of the Ethiopian community wins the competition for the first time," she was quoted by Israeli media as telling the judges in response to a question. "There are many different communities of many different colors in Israel, and it's important to show that to the world." Aynaw came to Israel with her family when she was 12. Acclimating to Israel was difficult at first, Aynaw said, but she picked up the language quickly with the help of a friend.She has been working as a saleswoman at a clothing store since her army discharge. Source jpost.com

Ethiopia Oil reserve may hold 2.7 billion barrels, Results will be anounced in two weeks

by Sabissa’s oil exploration results in two weeksBy Muluken Yewondwossen, CapitalEthiopia.com Tullow Oil exploration at the Sabissa site, a drilling location some 15 kilometres from Omorate town, are greatly anticipated to be disclosed in the coming two weeks.The first of the three explorations planned to be conducted in the course of this year, has commenced last month and is expected to give promising result in the rather bare oil exploration history of the country.Sources indicated that the first 2600 meter (2.6km) deep well exploration is almost in the final stages and is expected to show positive results of petroleum reserve. According to the information Capital obtained from experts, the UK based firm Tullow Oil will disclose the results to the public in the beginning of the coming month. “Final result will be known in coming two weeks,” the expert said. The first oil exploration well drilling of Tullow Oil Ethiopia commenced on January 14 at Sabissa-1 exploration site located in the South Omo Valley concession of the Southern Nation Nationality and Peoples’ Regional State (SNNPRS). A Polish drilling contractor, OGEC, is conducting the drilling operation.Tullow Oil has also announced that it will start drilling two other wells this year. According to the company, this drilling operation comes after an extensive 18 month seismic study, which also includes one of the world’s largest airborne gravity surveys covering approximately 18,000km. The results of this seismic activity helped determine the location of Tullow’s first exploration well in the South Omo block.The recently released report indicated that, based on the initial assessment, the oil reserve expected in the Tullow’s exploration area located in southern Ethiopia is higher than similar geographical locations that the company has already drilled in Kenya and Uganda.The report suggests that the oil reserve in Ethiopia may hold up to 2.7 billion barrels.The other partner in the venture, Canadian based Africa Oil, said the figure was a best case, gross unrisked estimate derived from an independent review of the South Omo block in Ethiopia.Tullow Oil has already made a discovery of oil on its own block in Kenya, which is located within the same petroleum system as South Omo. Previously, however, several oil explorations and even drilling were conducted by several companies in different locations of the country, but no successful results were recorded. In addition, most of them were delayed to commence their exploration, unlike Tullow. Meanwhile, Kenya’s project has reached the final stages. “It is only the final infrastructural works needed to make the product accessible for the market that remains. Every testing has been finalised in the past few weeks,” sources told Capital. According to the information, Kenya is to produce 2,650 barrels of oil per day based on the current development from its site northwest of the country and only a few kilometres from the Ethiopian border. The drilling conducted in Kenya on January 2012 has resulted in a discovery of 1.1 billion barrels of oil. Tullow Oil is said to be planning to add more wells at the site. Tullow Oil has also stakes in Uganda where it first found oil in Lake Albert Rift Basin and then extended its exploration to the East African Rift Basins of Kenya and Ethiopia in 2010. Africa Oil has exploration areas in the Ogaden basin, Kenya and Puntland. These concessions were previously held by the Swedish company, Lundin Petroleum. Recently, Africa Oil has successfully accomplished its exploration in Puntland, the self-declared state from Somalia.“Given that this is the first oil exploration well in the area testing for an entirely new petroleum system in the undrilled South Omo Basin, it may take several months to determine the results. The rig is expected to drill up to two further wells in Tullow’s Ethiopian rift basin area during 2013,” Petros Abebe, Tullow Oil Ethiopia country manager, said when the drilling operation commenced back in January 2013.Tullow is a leading independent oil and gas, exploration and production group. The group has interests in over 100 exploration, and production licences across 23 countries which are managed as three regional business units: West and North Africa, South and East Africa and Europe, South America and Asia.South Omo is situated within the Tertiary age East African Rift just north of Lake Turkana in neighbouring Kenya, which itself has recently found promising signs of substantial oil reserves, one of the last great rift basins to be explored in East Africa, said the company. Seismic and gravity data from Africa Oil show robust leads and prospects throughout the South Omo Project area.

Tullow Drills for Ethiopia’s First Oil in Kenyan Extension

“We are importing every drop of oil and gas,” Ethiopian Mines Minister Sinknesh Ejigu said last week. “We want to change this game.”

Tullow Drills for Ethiopia’s First Oil in Kenyan Extension - Bloomberg

Who Owns the Nile? Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia’s History-Changing Dam

by ANDREW CARLSONA rendering of the Grand Renaissance Dam under construction in Ethiopia on the Blue Nile. Its completion is expected to profoundly change the allocation of water resources in Africa. Editor's Note:Egypt and Sudan are utterly dependent on the waters of the Nile River. Over the past century both of these desert countries have built several dams and reservoirs, hoping to limit the ravages of droughts and floods which have so defined their histories. Now Ethiopia, one of eight upriver states and the source of most of the Nile waters, is building the largest dam in Africa.

Located on the Blue Nile twenty five miles from the Ethiopian border with Sudan, the Grand Renaissance Dam begins a new chapter in the long, bellicose history of debate on the ownership of the Nile waters, and its effects for the entire region could be profound.
Home | Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective

ETHIOPIA TO LAUNCH FIRST SATELLITE

February 14, 2013 · By Yohannes Anberbir Feb. 09, 2013 The Ethiopian government is set to design, construct and launch the country’s first satellite into space, according to Debretsion Gebremichael (Ph.D.), Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Cluster and minister of Communications and Information Technology. The minister told parliamentarians on Tuesday that the satellite will be primarily used for communication purposes and, if all goes according to plan, the satellite will be launched in a matter of two years.“It is not something that is going to happen overnight since it requires proper financing and human resource,” Debretsion told Mps.Once everything is finalized the launch will take place outside of Ethiopia, he added.According to the website of the Ethiopian Space Science Society, the ET-SAT, a small satellite (CubeSat,) is set to become the first satellite by an Ethiopian institution.During a meeting held at Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAiT,) of Addis Ababa University (AAU,) back in August 2012, AAiT’S deputy scientific director and QB-50’S ET-SAT project principal investigator, Dr/Eng. Getahun Mekuria announced that the proposal for ET-SAT has been pre selected by the QB50 project office, the Von Karman Institute (VKI,) BrusselsBelgium, among 71 proposals from 38 countries, the website read.The principal investigator  further stated that ET-SAT is to be designed and constructed by the Addis Ababa Institute of Technology (AAiT) team with the aim of carrying out lower thermosphere research and to teach youngsters about satellite technology.Fifty CubeSat are to be constructed and launched by universities and institutes all over the world under a project named QB50 and AAiT is the only institute in Africa to be pre-selected up to now.“The government has an intention to consider building a communication satellite and hence it is necessary to develop a roadmap that charts the various milestones that capture our vision and the current intended project. Furthermore, to bring all stakeholders of this intervention, organizing a workshop would be an essential first step,” Debretsion said at the meeting.

Source: The Reporter

Ethiopia produces first military drone aircraft - Sudan Tribune:

February 14, 2013 (ADDIS ABABA) – An Ethiopian military source has told Sudan Tribune that the country has built the first unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or drone which could be used for multiple purposes. After undergoing testing, the locally made drones, have demonstrated their capability of performing a number of militarily and civilian applications, according to the source.

Ethiopia produces first military drone aircraft - Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan

Deloitte to focus on agribusiness, mining in Ethiopia

By Bruh Yihunbelay  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – Deloitte Consulting Plc, a global professional services firm, which official opened its office here partnering with a local accountancy and advisory firm, HST, said that it will focus on consulting and developing agribusiness, mining and financial sectors in Ethiopia,Sammy Onyango, CEO for Deloitte East Africa, told reporters during a press conference held at Sheraton Addis on Wednesday that the reason why the company decided to open its office here is that Ethiopia’s capable human capital and fast economic growth   are components that cannot be ignored by anybody in the world.The new entity, Deloitte Consulting Plc, was granted an investment permit in January 2012 and was established with a registered capital of 1.1 million birr. It plans to give management consultancy, tax advisory, and senior management training services to both public and private sectors.The partner of Deloitte, HST Consulting Plc, is a company owned by certified accountants: Haileluel Tamiru, Solomon Gizaw, and Tekeste Gebru.“This means we have a pool of local experts that can solve any problem in any industry area, leveraging off global expertise,” Sammy told reporters.On his part, the global chairman of Deloitte, Stephen Almond, said that Ethiopia is in the early stage of transition from subsistence farming economy to commercialization and it is an exciting time for Ethiopia and for his company.Solomon Gizaw of HST said during the briefing that as Ethiopia is on the road to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), this partnership will help to easily mobilize global resources and support local businesses, especially the small and medium enterprises to be globally competitive.At the moment, Venmyn Deloitte is already involved in techno-economic advice on a potash deposit in the Danakil Depression in Northern Ethiopia after Deloitte acquired 100 percent of South African-based mining consultancy firm Venmyn Rand last year and named it Venmyn Deloitte.With its entry in Ethiopia and recent office openings in South Sudan and Libya, Deloitte has a presence in 34 African countries.Founded in 1845, by William Welch Deloitte in London, the company, which is now headquartered in New York, employs around 200,000 in more than 150 countries. Like its global competitors, Pricewaterhouse Coopers(PwC), Ernst & Young and KPMG, it provides audit, tax, enterprise risk, and financial advisory consultancy and services, recording a revenue of USD 31.3 billion in 2012. This ranked the consulting firm second after Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC), which registered a USD 31.5 billion in revenue in the same year.Source: thereporterethiopia.com