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The 2nd India Africa Forum Summit opens
next week
The Second India Africa Forum Summit takes place in Addis Ababa next
Tuesday and Wednesday, May 24th and 25th. The
Summit will be preceded by a Foreign Ministers’ meeting on May 23rd
and meetings of senior officials today and Saturday. There will also
be a special meeting of trade ministers on Saturday. India’s
Minister of Commerce and Industry, Anand Sharma, is today
inaugurating the India Show, organized by the Confederation of
Indian Industry with support from Ethiopia’s Ministry of Trade, on
the theme of India-Africa: Partners in Progress; Friends Forever.
The opening session is being addressed by Mt. Erastus Mwencha,
Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission, Ethiopia’s Minister of
Trade, Ato Abdurahman Sheikh Mohamed, and Ato Mekonnen Manyazwal,
Minister of Industry. The Confederation of Indian Industry is
represented by a 15 member high-level delegation and more than 80
companies will be displaying their products.
Next week’s summit will be the second summit-level meeting between
India and Africa. The first, in New Delhi in April 2008, opened a
new chapter in relations between the continent and India. Fifteen
African states are expected to participate in the Summit on behalf
of Africa: Algeria, Burundi, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya,
Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa,
Swaziland and Ethiopia. The choice of countries attending is decided
by the African Union on the basis of the Banjul format adopted by
the AU for participation in Summits of this kind. Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh will lead the delegation from India. The meeting is
expected to focus on significant aspects of the partnership between
India and Africa to enhance relations for mutual benefit. It will
give emphasis to ways of increasing levels of trade and investment.
Bilateral trade between India and Africa has currently reached 48
billion US dollars and India hopes it will reach 70 billion US
dollars by 2015. There will also be a focus on regional and
international issues of common concern, among them piracy and
terrorism. The Summit is expected to produce an Addis Ababa
Declaration and an Addis-India Framework for Enhanced Cooperation.
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The Fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries
A high-level Ethiopian delegation led by Prime Minister Meles and
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hailemariam Desalegn
attended the Fourth United Nations Conference on Least Developed
Countries (LDCs) in Istanbul from May 9th to 13th.
Over 50 heads of state and government, 10 vice presidents, 94
ministers, and 47 heads of international organizations, as well as
over 8,000 delegates participated in the conference. It was
organized following United Nations General Assembly’s decisions in
Resolutions 63/227 and 63/213 and convened with two key objectives –
to evaluate the implementation of the Brussels Program of Action
adopted ten years ago and to launch a new ten-year development
framework for sustainable development in LDCs. Months of painstaking
negotiations between rich and poor countries preceded the Conference
which culminated in the adoption of the Istanbul Declaration and the
Istanbul Plan of Action (2011-2020). The Istanbul Plan of Action
has laid the framework for global commitment and partnership to lift
LDCs out of poverty and underdevelopment. As a co-chair of the
preparatory committee, Ethiopia played a significant role in
reflecting the views of LDCs and in serving as a reliable bridge
between the negotiating parties.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Hailemariam spoke during
the general debate in the Conference Plenary, noting that although
LDCs generally have registered a commendable growth since the
adoption of the Brussels Plan of Action, their growth was certainly
not fast enough. One of the reasons for this was that the global
partnership the Plan had envisioned had not materialized. Ato
Hailemariam underlined the point that extreme poverty and inequality
were likely to spawn instability that transcended boundaries. Ato
Hailemariam called for more effective mechanisms to implement global
partnerships and suggested the creation of a new international
development architecture that would address the challenges that the
LDCs face today.
At a separate event on Resource Mobilization and Global Partnership
at which he was a keynote speaker, Prime Minister Meles spoke of the
need for LDCs to fully exploit their domestic potentials, especially
taxation, arguing that “The ability to collect taxes goes to the
very heart of the legitimacy of every government.” Mobilizing local
resources should be seen as a primary driver of local economies.
Foreign aid, grants and loans would remain important but the Prime
Minister made a distinction between partnership that aimed at a
win-win approach and the “philanthropic” mentality which saw aid as
an altruistic gesture. It is the former, obviously, that should be
the basis of future partnership between rich and poor countries. The
latter did more harm than good. While massive dollar savings were
“milling around” in the developed countries, LDCs faced enormous
shortages of finance to build their productive capacities.
The Conference was organized around a number of “tracks” or themes:
the Parliamentary Track and the Intergovernmental, Private Sector
and Civil Society Tracks. These served as fora for members of
parliament, business executives, leaders of NGOs and social
activists to discuss ways and means through which the LDCs could be
pulled out of their current state of underdevelopment. There were
also a series of high–level side events organized round thematic
issues. Notable among them was a debate on Macro-economic
Policies for LDCs: From Recovery to Sustainable Development in
which Prime Minister Meles was a panellist. Organized by the United
Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, this discussed
alternative macro-economic policies for the LDCs. In an earlier
press briefing Prime Minister Meles had indicated that countries
like Ethiopia were being punished for pursuing “unorthodox” economic
policies, adding “For the last ten years, we have refused to
implement macroeconomic policy copies of international financial
institutions; so far, we are successful.” Nevertheless, Ethiopia was
receiving only half of the financial support it deserved because it
opted for “a home-grown policy”. The Prime Minister noted that
involvement of the people was a linchpin to sustainability, and he
emphasized that to ensure sustainable economic development LDCs
should develop pro-poor, equitable policies.
In the Istanbul Declaration, the conference committed itself to the
Program of Action throughout the coming decade. It underscored that
the ownership, leadership and primary responsibility for development
in LDCs rested with the LDCs themselves. Good governance,
inclusiveness and transparency as well as domestic resource
mobilization were central to the development process of the
LDCs. It recognized LDCs’ efforts to make progress in provision of
essential services, education, health, water and sanitation and
shelter, and encouraged gender equality. It underlined the
importance of infrastructure services and institutional capacity,
emphasizing the need for a dynamic and socially responsible private
sector, and the importance of mobilizing domestic and external
financial resources. It undertook to promote access to knowledge,
information, technology and know-how, welcoming the Turkish
government offer to host an International Science, Technology and
Innovation Center. It stressed that integrated and sustainable
agriculture and rural development policies were essential to the
eradication of poverty and hunger, and acknowledged the potential of
regional economic integration and cooperation. It reaffirmed
international trade as a key driver of economic growth and
sustainable development and called on WTO members to intensify their
efforts to bring the WTO Doha Round to a successful conclusion.
It underlined its commitment to the implementation of duty-free and
quota-free market access for all LDCs. It noted that new innovative
finance mechanisms had the potential to contribute to LDC
development. It expressed concern over LDC’s high debt burden and
underlined the need for implementation of bold and comprehensive
measures to address this effectively and equitably. Overall, there
was an urgent need to strengthen the capacity of LDCs to mitigate
crises and effectively respond to economic shocks. The conference
acknowledged the adverse impact of climate change on LDCs and noted
the need for mobilization and provision of additional, adequate and
predictable financial resources for LDCs’ adaptation and mitigation
needs. It welcomed the decision to establish the Green Climate Fund
and noted the increasingly important role of South-South Cooperation
for LDCs’ development. It referred to the
important role of Parliaments in debating development strategies as
well as overseeing their implementation, to ensure effectiveness,
transparency and accountability. The conference called on
civil society and other relevant stakeholders at all levels to
enhance their roles in the development efforts of LDCs. It
reaffirmed the critical importance of effective and efficient
follow-up and monitoring mechanisms at all levels to assess progress
in the implementation of the Program of Action which was also
adopted by the Conference.
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Somalia: The continued split in the TFIs
There is still no indication of any end to the problems of the TFIs
in Mogadishu. On Monday, the Speaker of the Transitional Federal
Parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheikh Adam, warned that there was a
danger of fresh conflicts with multiple rival presidents if
presidential elections were not carried out in August. The Speaker
called for TFG leaders to accept the election process which he said
would be held in Mogadishu for the first time. The election would be
legal and would “support the legitimacy of national institutions”,
Sharif Hassan told reporters at a press conference in his office.
The Speaker referred to the UN Security Council’s latest call on
holding elections and demanding an end to the rift between the
government leaders: “I ask the UN, the AU, IGAD and neighboring
countries to assist us holding the election”. He also asked the
Djibouti government to support Somalia’s election. Asked if he
intended to run as a presidential candidate, Sharif Hassan declined
to comment, saying that this was not the right time.
The Speaker and the President recently held an informal meeting in a
bid to try and resolve the stalemate which has virtually split the
TFIs in two. Insiders say that President Sheikh Sharif urged the
Speaker to encourage Parliament to accept a one year extension of
the current TFG term, but Speaker Sharif Hassan told the President
that an election is unavoidable although, he added, that it was
still possible for Parliament to reverse its decision. One concern
of President Sheikh Sharif hinges on the recently appointed
Parliamentary election committee which will manage the procedural
sequence of the elections, whether Speaker or President should be
elected first, if an election becomes inevitable. The sequence of
voting will affect the results.
Meanwhile, AMISOM and Somali government forces have continued
operations against Al-Shabaab on a number of important fronts
including the heavily entrenched eastern part of Bakaraha market,
the Aden Ade road and the strategic southern zone of the market
encompassing African village, NBC and the former Russian camp. The
attacks launched four days ago led to heavy fighting but eventually
forced Al-Shabaab to abandon a number of important positions. AMISOM
forces are now holding the areas seized from Al-Shabaab. The Defense
Minister, Abdul Hakim Mohamed Haji Fiqi, said the advance by his
forces and AMISOM troops was a critical part of pushing Mogadishu’s
armed opposition away from the populated areas and ultimately out of
the city entirely. The successes came after an increase in the
numbers of AMISOM and of TFG forces on the ground in Mogadishu, and
the minister said it showed what could be achieved if the TFG was
provided with the necessary resources.
As A Week in the Horn noted earlier, at the beginning of this month
Al-Shabaab’s leadership, facing a series of defeats in Mogadishu and
elsewhere in the country, had a meeting in Brava, south of Mogadishu
to discuss future strategy. The aim was to try and revive its
momentum and to introduce some fresh initiatives. One of these
apparently has been an effort to reconstitute some of the former
remnants of Al-Itihaad Al Islamiya into an organization that Al-Shabaab
now wants to call the United West Somali Liberation Front,
presumably intended to operate inside the Somali Regional State of
Ethiopia. Al-Shabaab even claimed to show local media the new forces
of its UWSLF under training. The leader of this organization is
claimed to be Sheikh Abdullahi Raabi, from the Ogadeni clan and a
former Al-Itihaad fighter. He participated in the recent meeting of
top Al-Shabaab commanders in Afgoye when the movement promised
revenge against the West for the death of Al Qaeda leader, Osama bin
Ladin.
It appears Al-Shabaab is apparently to try to shift the fight away
from Somalia back to Ethiopia, and also to try to undermine the
successful peace deal reached last year between the Ethiopian
Government and the UWSLF. In fact, the UWSLF under the deal reached
with the government has been progressively expanding its involvement
in development in the Regional State and its co-operation with the
regional government. The larger part of the ONLF which also made
peace with the government last year has also been involved in
growing cooperation and development in the region.
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AUHIP hosts another round of Sudan talks
Another round of the talks between North and South Sudan started
yesterday in Ethiopia. Moderated by the African Union High Level
Implementation Panel headed by former South African President Mbeki,
they are expected to last for three days. This is another session of
the Economic Cluster and the main issues will be oil-sharing, the
currency and external debts. The last round of discussions of the
economic cluster took place at the Kuriftu resort south of Addis
Ababa in March when the South agreed to help the north to persuade
international creditors to provide debt relief. The Economic Cluster
negotiations have included discussion of North Sudan retaining
external assets and external liabilities. The negotiations on oil
have centered on the use and ownership of oil infrastructure and how
to manage revenues and fees. There has been agreement over
introduction of a new currency and the Sudanese pound will continue
as legal tender in the South for a transitional period of between
six to nine months. Reports from Khartoum also suggest that Abyei
and border demarcation may also be on the agenda.
With time running out before the July deadline, these discussions
may provide the last chance to resolve some of the issues, and it is
hoped the meeting will reach sufficient conclusions to allow the
African Union to proceed to the stage of drafting agreements. Other
outstanding issues include settlement of the Abyei question, popular
consultations on the future status of Southern Kordofan and Blue
Nile states, and the issue of SPLA troops in those regions, as well
as areas along the border. There are five areas in dispute, and also
issues of access to water, agricultural schemes, grazing land,
historical tribal boundaries and political constituencies which need
to be settled. In addition, the Border Commission has yet to submit
an operational plan for the demarcation of non-contentious border
areas. Most important remains Abyei which represents a dangerous
flashpoint. There has been no progress on central aspects of the
Abyei Protocol, among them final agreement on the boundaries of the
region, border demarcation, wealth-sharing, and eligibility to
participate in the Abyei Area referendum. The Kadugli Agreements of
January addressed some of the security concerns, but no agreement
has been reached on Abyei despite Presidency level negotiations
under the auspices of the African Union High Level Implementation
Panel.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban ki-Moon, is
about to give the UN Security Council a special report on the
situation in Sudan as requested by Security Council Resolution 1978
(2011) of April 27th and a possible mandate for a
continued United Nations presence in South Sudan after its
independence. The Government of South Sudan will have urgent need to
address such problems as a weak administration of justice and law
enforcement; extension of its authority will be crucial to maintain
peace and security. The Secretary-General will strongly recommend
supporting the Government of Southern Sudan’s request for a United
Nations presence. In his last report in April, the Secretary-General
noted the United Nations had initiated a system-wide, integrated
mission planning process for a possible mission in South Sudan. An
assessment mission visited in February and March, and its
recommendations have now been reviewed. Mr. Ban ki-Moon is now
likely to recommend that that the Security Council consider a
multidimensional United Nations operation, under Chapter VI of the
UN Charter, to provide support for popular participation in
political processes including elections, encourage ratification of
key international human rights treaties and conventions, support
participatory governance and conflict mitigation, the establishment
of an independent media, security sector reform and the rule of law,
the development of a national security policy, strengthen the police
and the promotion and protection of human rights, and assist in
building an independent and competent judicial system. The main
effort of the mission would be on the political level, to assist the
Government and local stakeholders prevent conflict, consolidate
peace, strengthen the pluralistic political system, and address
issues related to peace, governance and reconciliation. The Mission
would be expected to have a military component to provide security
for United Nations personnel, to deter violence through deployment
in areas at high risk of conflict and protect civilians under
imminent threat.
A UN Security Council delegation will arrive in Ethiopia today on
the first stage of a trip to Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya. In Addis
Ababa it will be holding discussions with African Union officials on
peace and security issues. It will also be meeting with Prime
Minister Meles before heading to Sudan, where it will hold talks in
Khartoum and Juba as well as visit Abyei. The last stop will be
Nairobi, where the delegation will meet senior Kenyan government
officials to discuss concerns related to situation in Somalia,
peacekeeping and reconciliation efforts.
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President Isaias rejects independence for South Sudan
In less than two months, South Sudan is due to become independent,
but according to the President of Eritrea, it is almost unthinkable
that it might become a viable independent state. He seems adamant
that this is going to be an exercise in futility. Indeed, he himself
cannot imagine seeing a divided Sudan, and thinks that for anybody
in his right mind South and North Sudan should remain united. Such a
statement, coming as it does from the leader of a nation that was
itself born as the result of a long and bloody war of secession, is
curious and in more ways than one. Indeed, for President Isaias to
make these sorts of remarks about an “unviable” South Sudan state
almost appears to be a case of sour-grapes; one might even surmise
that the regime in Asmara merely wants Eritrea to remain the
youngest nation in Africa.
To begin with, Eritrean officials have always made it a point to
overstate their contribution to the SPLM’s struggle against the
North. They even brag that if it had not been for their support,
armed personnel and all, the SPLM could not have made it beyond
Kurmuk. In fact, as recently as 2005, Asmara was flaunting its open
support for all the opposition forces opposed to the government in
Khartoum. Indeed, there is no reason to believe that it has stopped
support to all of these groups even today.
More importantly, however, as so often President Isaias appears to
be making every effort to ensure that any predictions of his will
become self-fulfilling prophecies. It is now apparent that Eritrea
is bringing together all kinds of forces opposed to South Sudan’s
independence. It is not entirely clear what exactly the Eritrean
regime might stand to gain from the unleashing of problems in South
Sudan. It is, however, very clear that it is not in the interest
either of a united Sudan, as President Isaias would have the world
believe Eritrea is, or in the interests of North or South Sudan. His
attempts to stay involved in the crisis of Sudan, in one form or
another, is a testament to his objection to the notion of unity
among any of Eritrea’s
neighbors.
President Isaias’ remarks on South Sudan have been merely one of a
number of efforts to share his thoughts with the world once again.
There’s no indication of any greater substance or of any change of
attitude. All he offers are his know-it-all monologues and
unsolicited advice to the international community on every
imaginable issue. This is the twentieth anniversary of Eritrea’s de
facto independence in 1991 and many are now trying to figure out
what tomorrow might hold for an impoverished state teetering on the
brink of disaster with its most productive segment of population
almost stampeding across its borders. President Isaias, however,
still appears intent on continuing to do what he does best:
obfuscating in every direction while making sure any sign of return
to normalcy in the country is nipped in the bud. In this he actually
appears to have locked horns with his own officials who in all
fairness do sometimes try to display a modicum of diplomatic
finesse, however hollow. It is in this light that the recent remarks
by President Isaias contrast sharply with what other officials have
said.
In a recent interview with local journalists, Eritrea’s Foreign
Minister stated Eritrea’s efforts were “essentially focused on
securing, peace, stability, development and cooperation in the wider
Horn of Africa and the Red Sea Regions.” He also added for good
measure that “Eritrea would work diligently in efforts to transform
the conflict-stricken region into a cooperative and peaceful
region.” He even spoke of his country’s “constructive engagement on
regional and international matters” in a matter-of-fact tone. It is
almost surreal to hear an Eritrean official speaking in these terms
about attitudes which Eritrea has so conspicuously avoided in
practice. To the extent that Eritrea observes constructive
engagement with its neighbors or with the international community,
it does so in complete breach of the notion. For Eritrea to claim to
work towards peace and stability in the region is as much fiction as
the kind of ‘quality of life and development’ that it claims its
self-reliant policies provide.
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A Sudanese delegation looks at Ethiopia’s poverty
reduction strategies
This week, a delegation from Sudan has been in Addis Ababa to look
at Ethiopia’s experience in poverty reduction. The delegation from
the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development was drawn from
departments dealing with poverty reduction, urban water development,
policy and strategy and monitoring and evaluation. Their visit
lasted three days, from May 16th to 18th. They
were briefed by government officials in the relevant departments on
Ethiopia’s achievement in poverty reduction, a major item on the
government’s agenda. The national development strategies are built
on broad based, rapid, sustainable economic growth, social
development and good governance. Officials provided details of the
Agricultural Development-Led Industrialization strategy and other
elements. Government investment in agriculture has brought five to
six million people out of poverty level in the past twenty years,
and the sector has averaged 8% consecutive growth rates in the past
five years with a total crop production of 191 million quintals.
Advances in education and health and the devolution of power to the
regional governments under the federal structure have also greatly
contributed to the reduction of poverty. A critical element has been
the implementation of Ethiopia’s own home-grown policies and an
encouraging combination of public participation, private sector and
civil societies’ involvement.
The
Sudanese delegation took note of the progress registered and the
coordinated efforts of stake holders. It appreciated its welcome and
noted that peace and stability and working with international
financial institutions through harmonized polices towards the
Millennium Development Goals was helping Ethiopia’s continued
economic growth especially in agriculture, social and infrastructure
development. Sudan, after the independence of South Sudan, is
intending to develop a poverty reduction strategy. It is looking to
be able to utilize examples of the development experiences of
Ethiopia and of other neighbouring
states.
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