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
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
“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
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.
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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
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
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
Feb 6, 2013 3:07pm by Katrina Manson in The link between one of the world’s most powerful corporate leaders and a small bank in Ethiopia might not be immediately obvious. In this case, it’s an IBM server, which powers Awash International Bank. But soon it could be a lot more if Ginni Rometty (pictured) has anything to do with it.
IBM in Ethiopia: it’s all about data | beyondbrics
Only six months ago, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn was serving as a discrete vice premier to the late omni-present Meles Zenawi. The 47-year-old academic saw himself propelled to the helm of affairs in the 83 million strong Horn of Africa country after Zenawi's death in August 2012.As Ethiopia continues to establish itself as a regional economic and military power, it looks less likely to dissociate Meles Zenawi's strong personality from the country's performance.Hailemariam Desalegn is not only intent staying on track with Ethiopia's development plans, he is also seducing foreign investors by showing them that the country has remained stable and well governed.Either by a stroke of luck or an unprecedented sense of timing, he was inducted as president of the African Union (AU) on 27 January 2013, taking over from Benin's Thomas Boni Yayi.His first meeting with Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, president the AU Commission went well.Read the original article on Theafricareport.com : Ethiopia: Hailemariam Desalegn - The Africa Report.com
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has designated 129 World Heritage Sites inAfrica. These sites are located in 37 countries (also called "state parties");Ethiopia is home to the most with nine sites, and twelve countries have only a single site each. Three sites are shared between two countries: the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Côte d'Ivoire andGuinea), the Stone Circles of Senegambia(the Gambia and Senegal) and the Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls (Zambia andZimbabwe).[1] The first sites from the continent were inscribed in 1978, when the Island of Gorée of Senegal and theRock-Hewn Churches of Ethiopia were chosen during the list's conception.[2][3]Each year, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee may inscribe new sites on the list, or delist sites that that no longer meet the criteria. Selection is based onten criteria: six for cultural heritage (i–vi) and four for natural heritage (vii–x).[4]Some sites, designated "mixed sites," represent both cultural and natural heritage. In Africa, there are 83 cultural, 41 natural, and 5 mixed sites.[1] Several efforts have been devoted to increasing the number of sites and preserving the heritage of existing sites on the continent; for example, on 5 May 2006, the African World Heritage Fund was launched by UNESCO to target the region of Sub-Saharan Africa. It planned to protect the sites by hiring personnel for state parties to maintain national inventories of existing sites, as well as to "prepare nomination dossiers for inscription onto the World Heritage List." Grants were also destined to help the "[conservation] and management of heritage properties in general" and to rehabilitate properties in danger.[5] The drive was initially funded by South Africawith US$3.5 million,[5] and, as of March 2011, has amassed $4.7 million from various countries, with an additional $4.1 million in pending pledges.[6] UNESCO has also attempted to increase awareness of African human origin sites in Ethiopia, with a goal of conserving and protecting the areas from further deterioration.[7]The World Heritage Committee may also specify that a site is endangered, citing "conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List."[8]Along with other World Heritage Sites, sites in danger are subject to re-evaluation by the committee every year at their "ordinary sessions".[9][10] Africa has the highest percentage of sites on the danger list with seventeen, accounting for 13% of the African sites and 44% of the 39 endangered sites worldwide, and the Democratic Republic of Congo is the only country to have more than two sites inscribed.[8] Sites in Africa have been marked as such for a variety of reasons, such as deforestationand hunting,[11][12] civil war,[13] threats to and hostage taking of reserve staff,[14]oil and gas projects and mining,[15]declines in biodiversity,[16] and structural damage to buildings.[17] Three sites were formerly declared as being in danger, but have since lost the status: theNgorongoro Conservation Area (1984–1989),[18] the Rwenzori Mountains National Park (1999–2004),[19] and Tipasa(2002–2006).[20] The Garamba National Park and Timbuktu have also lost their statuses in 1992 and 2005, respectively, but later regained it in 1996 and 2012.[21][22] Despite its large number of endangered sites and the circumstances surrounding them, African World Heritage Sites have never been stripped of their title, something that has only occurred twice. Source.. Wikipedia
The lower Omo Valley region of southwestern Ethiopia is overwhelmingly green, riven with steep-sided hills and home to about two dozen tribal groups, including the bull-jumping Hamer people, the decorated Mursi, whose women folk wear huge lip plates, and Surmi warriors, who paint themselves white to look like spirits in the night. Without any doubt, the lower Omo Valley is one of the most ethnically diverse corners of Africa.
Travel in Ethiopia: Addis Ababa and the Omo Valley - The National
Posted on January 16, 2013. VENTURES AFRICA – Ethiopia may be eligible to join the World Trade Organisation(WTO) by 2014, according to officials at the organisation.The announcement that the country may be able to join the WTO within the next two years was made by Pascal Lamy, out-going Director General of the organisation while visiting Ethiopia to hold talks on the potential WTO membership.Lamy met with Ethiopia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Tedros Adhanom to discuss the accession procedures and requirements for membership, which the country has been working to meet for some time.Ethiopia made its initial application to become part of the WTO in 2003, and a Working Party to consider and guide the country’s accession was set up in February of the same year.Key issues pertaining to Ethiopia joining the WTO have surrounded the opening up of currently state-monopolised sectors, such as the telecommunications and finance sectors, while the country has also been called upon to allow investment by foreign entities.Ethiopia’s human rights policies and practices have also come under scrutiny over the protracted application process.The current announcement by Lamy indicates that Ethiopia may be nearing completion of all the transformations required by the organisation, with the Director General’s visit also intended to provide specific advice in order that the final stages of accession may be swift.In addition to the accession talks, Lamy also reportedly met with the country’s Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn – who replaced Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who died suddenly last year following an unspecified illness– in order to discuss matters of economic integration, with a view to creating a stable economic space in Ethiopia and the region, as well as speaking about Ethiopia’s role in the upcoming G-20 meeting to be held in Russia later this year.Once Ethiopia meets all of the requirements set out for accession, the final decision regarding membership will fall to the member countries of the WTO, who must all sign and ratify an accession agreement granting full membership.
(AFP) Sunday 13 January 2013They may not have the prestige, experience or star names of some of their more illustrious continental rivals, but Ethiopia are committed to excelling at the 2013 CAF Africa Cup of Nations.It is the first time the Horn of Africa squad has qualified for the pan-African tournament in 31 years, and though the odds might be stacked against them, the Walias Antelopes - named after an endangered antelope endemic to Ethiopia's northern mountains - are confident they will defy expectations and proceed to the knock-out stage of the tournament."We are going to face a lot of challenges and we have been away from the competition for a long time," striker Adane Girma told AFP. "But we have good morale, a good mentality and we are very strong, so we can face any kind of challenge," he added, sweat glistening on his forehead after practice at the national stadium in Addis Ababa.In a rare and unexpected feat, the Walias beat Sudan 2-0 last October in the Ethiopian capital, prompting thousands of jubilant fans to pour into the streets to celebrate. They are now preparing to face title holders Zambia on 21 January in South African city Nelspruit.Though Zambia is a stronger team, Girma said his squad is focused on beating them in order to move on to matches against two-time champions Nigeria and Burkina Faso in Group C. "We are just thinking about finishing that first game on top and then later think about Nigeria or Burkina Faso," he said.The mood is 100 per cent - they want to show their talent and sell their personality to the world.Ethiopia coach Sewnet Bishaw on his side's mood going into the Africa Cup of NationsStar striker Saladin Said added that he remains unfazed by the threat posed by stronger teams, stating: "We are not bothered by the names, our only focus is to win."But coach Sewnet Bishaw said that despite the team's confidence the Walias still lack international experience and boast few professional players. "Our players are young and they are less experienced with international matches like (the Cup of Nations)," he said.Said, who plays for Wadi Degla in Egypt, ranks as the team's only player plying his trade outside of Ethiopia. Bishaw believes his team's strengths, however, are in their passing and strong defence, which helped them draw a friendly against 2004 champions Tunisia in Qatar this month, and make them formidable competitors in South Africa.The draw against Tunisia was a "huge boost", according to Girma. And he is not prepared to stop there: he has his sights set on the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. "We are leaders in the World Cup qualification group, and hopefully we are going to qualify for the World Cup," he said.But if they do not come out on top, Bishaw said the tournament is an opportunity for Ethiopia - a country better known for churning out world-class long distance runners than footballers - to prove their clout on the football pitch. "The mood is 100 per cent - they want to show their talent and sell their personality to the world," he said. Their participation alone in the competition is already a source of major national pride, a feeling bolstered, according Bishaw, by the fact that the entire operation is built up of Ethiopian natives. "We have tried many times to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations, we have tried many different types of coaches, including professionals from abroad - but now we are all locals here, we made it, so it's a great thing for our nation," he said, breaking into a wide smile. Add your comment
Ethiopian can not afford a prolonged war. Ethiopia as the poorest country in the world is dependent on aid. A prolonged war simply depletes ...
