Ethiopian and Irish Foreign Ministers pledge to strengthen ties

Friday 7^th July 2006

Ethiopia and Ireland have pledged to step up their development cooperation in a joint statement issued after talks held by the Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin and his Irish counterpart Dermot Ahern T.D. on Thursday 6^th July. The two Foreign Ministers said they had held fruitful discussions on ways of increasing the development cooperation between their two countries, as well as other international issues, such as the Ethio-Eritrea border and the situation in Somalia.

Foreign Minister Ahern, whose visit began on Wednesday and will end on Friday, also held a two hour meeting with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, during which the Ethiopian Premier said his country attached special attention to the significant endeavours achieved because of Ireland’s assistance. Among the topics under discussion were the democratic process in Ethiopia, the parliamentary code of ethics and procedure as well as other bilateral and multilateral issues.

After the talks, Foreign Minister Ahern told journalists that his country was keen to strengthen cooperation with Ethiopia in trade and investment, and said that many Irish entrepreneurs wished to invest in the country. Ahern said he also discussed Ireland’s development assistance with the Prime Minister, which amounts to 35 million annually, and promised to substantially increase the aid in the coming years. Minister Seyoum said that the understanding with Ireland, which is a major partner to Ethiopia, has a “unique dimension”, before he thanked the government and people of Ireland for their assistance with development work.

Foreign Minister Ahern also met with representatives from the main opposition parties.

“There is considerable interest in the Irish peace process here, on all sides. In that context I have undertaken to brief the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister on the process of conflict resolution in Ireland and to outline possible parallels between our countries,” Mr Ahern said, speaking to media at the Irish Embassy.

“I offered Ireland's full assistance in this regard...to help overcome the divisions in Ethiopia in any way possible, by drawing on our own experiences of conflict resolution. I also welcome the discussions which I have had with Ethiopian civil society and Irish NGOs about overcoming political difference in the country through dialogue.”