The Ethiopian government will unveil new foreign relations policy soon, substituting the existing policy which has been in place for 24 years ago, a spokesperson for the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign affairs said.
Briefing journalists on Tuesday, October 29, 2019, the spokesperson for the ministry of foreign affairs, Nebiat Getachew, said the new foreign policy comes after the existing was proved to be outdated and does not consider the current political and economic situations of the world.
When Prime Minister Abiy came to power in April 2018, he promised to transform the country’s foreign policy to enhance the nation’s influence and address unfolding crises in the horn Africa region where many forces have different interests and objectives.
The new foreign policy will focus on avoiding conflict, attracting financial support, coordinating on security matters, promoting capacity-building and knowledge exchange, and enhancing Ethiopia’s international profile and reputation.
“The new foreign relations policy, to be officially inaugurated in the following days, was drafted considering the growth of the country’s population (from 60 million 24 years ago and to 100 plus million now), regional, continental and global political and economic values, the spokesperson said
“The emergence of South Sudan as a new state, the end of no-peace no-war relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the change in political situations in neighboring Somalia, among other things, has called for changing the country’s foreign relations policy,” Nebiat added.
Diplomats, and academicians from different universities participated in the preparation of the new foreign policy over the last seven months. the spokesperson said.
Under Abiy, Ethiopia’s approach to regional powers has been going through a significant reboot. After successfully making peace with Eritrea, the prime minister mediated disputes between Eritrea and Djibouti, resolving their disagreements. The premier also played a role in making peace in Sudan and South Sudan.
By drawing on the resources of the region, the new policy aims to create new alliances and opportunities to end the massive waste of human potential in the region, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
