Comoros is the second stop of the Ethiopian Foreign Minister’s tour to Africa (+ photos)

Mekonnen was received in Moroni by his Comorian counterpart Dhir Dolkamal, and he is expected to meet President Ghazali El Othmani in the afternoon.

The chief of Ethiopian diplomacy arrived in Tanzania the day before and spoke with President Samia Solo on bilateral and regional issues. He indicated Addis Ababa’s willingness to strengthen relations with Dodoma in the economic sector.

He renewed the Ethiopian government’s commitment to establishing lasting peace in the country through the implementation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement, signed on November 2 in South Africa and which put an end to the conflict with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which was promoted by Africans. Union (AU).

He emphasized that issues related to the construction of the Renaissance Dam are being resolved through dialogue under the auspices of the African Union.

Later, the Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister visited Emperor Haile Selassie I Secondary School in Zanzibar, which was founded 75 years ago, and planted a tree as a memorial of his visit.

In honor of Selassie I’s contribution to the liberation of Africans, former President Julius Nyerere, also known as the “Father of Tanzania”, gave the school its name.

“The current generation should cooperate to achieve a common goal, similar to the founding fathers of Africa,” Mekonnen stressed. The Ethiopian Foreign Minister’s tour also includes Burundi and Uganda.

Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan signed the Declaration of Principles on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on March 23, 2015, which recognizes Addis Ababa’s right to construct the hydraulic project and requires it to share energy, maintain irrigation consumption, and not affect the economy and flow. The Nile and the food security of its neighbors, among other aspects.

Given the concern for their water reserves since 2011, when construction work began on the dam, Cairo and Khartoum condemned the opening of the generator without a tripartite agreement and considered it a violation of that declaration.

A similar situation occurred in the filling stages during the 2020 and 2021 seasons this past year, in the midst of frustrating negotiations to agree on how to exploit it under the auspices of the African Union.

For its part, Ethiopia has confirmed on several occasions that it has no hidden evil intentions, and does not intend to block the waters of the river or cause hunger for the Egyptian and Sudanese peoples. On the contrary, the Renaissance Dam will promote comprehensive progress. in East Africa.

lam / nmr