EU provides €7mln support to Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission

Addis Ababa, July 5, 2023 (FBC) – European Union extends its financial support to Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission (ENDC) at a signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Finance.

The European Union and several of its Member States as well as Norway have agreed to provide 7 million euros in initial support to the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission (ENDC) through a UNDP-managed multi-partner fund. The fund was established in response to a request from the Government of the FDRE, conveyed through the Ministry of Finance to the UN. The three-year budget of the fund is USD 35 million.

During the signing ceremony state minister of Finance Semereta Sewasew said that, so far, a total of 12 million USD has been mobilized from partners, including the 7 million that we are going to sign today to support the Commission and the National Dialogue process. We also expect more EU member states to join hands and support the commission’s efforts sooner.

She added that this time is critical to the activities of ENDC because the Commission is about to begin national consultations throughout the country in the coming months. This tells us we reached a decisive stage where several consultations will be conducted in every corner of the country with millions of citizens involved.

It is recalled that ENDC was established by the House of People’s Representatives with a three-year mandate to lead an independent, inclusive, and transparent national dialogue in Ethiopia. The dialogue is expected to help resolve differences and misunderstandings towards building a more peaceful, inclusive, and equitable country.