Ethiopia affirms commitment to safe and secure maritime activity in Red Sea & Indian Ocean

Addis Ababa, September 28, 2024 (FBC) – Foreign Minister, Ambassador Taye Atske-Selassie addressed the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly high-level political debate reiterating Ethiopia’s commitment to the maintenance of global peace and security and upholding multilateralism.

He stated that the United Nations is faced with problems that might exceed its power and capacity, which calls for a return to multilateralism and the spirit of solidarity and cooperation among member states to mitigate the challenges.

In this regard he mentioned arms race, extreme poverty, inequality, climate change and the receding global commitment to the Sustainable Development as grave threats that need to be addressed by the UN and its member States.

He also mentioned notable achievements in Ethiopia that deserve support and financing for some of them from the international community. In connection with that, he mentioned the transformational shifts in Ethiopia’s monetary and economic policies, the Green Legacy Initiative of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed which increased Ethiopia’s forest coverage from 3 to 24 percent contributing substantially to the global fight against climate change, and efforts to transition to non-fossil fuel energy sources.

Speaking on regional matters, Ambassador Taye stressed his country’s commitment to work with the Nile Basin riparian States in ensuring fair and equitable utilization of the water resources as manifested by the signing and ratification of the CFA. He also spoke about Ethiopia’s commitment to work with stakeholders to ensure safe and secure maritime activity in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, and combat terrorist elements, such as Al-Shabaab.

He, in particular, applauded the resilience of the people of Somalia and the sacrifices of the sons and daughters of Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia in degrading terrorism in Somalia. He called on the Government of Somalia to be appreciative of such sacrifices and called on some external actors outside of the HoA to exercise restraint on their attempts of exacerbating tensions in the region.

Speaking about Ethiopia’s memorandum of understanding with Somaliland, he said it is based on existing political dispensation in Somalia and Ethiopia’s objective is shared growth and prosperity in the region. Mentioning the fact that similar agreements have been concluded by other states, he said there is no reason for the Federal Government of Somalia to incite hostility unless it intends to cover internal political tensions.