UK reaffirms support for the AU-led peace initiative in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, July 25, 2022 (FBC) – Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti Berhanu Tsegaye, met with Jo McPhail, the UK Ambassador to Djibouti. Ambassador Berhanu gave Ambassador McPhail an update on recent events in Ethiopia, including the government’s efforts to promote harmony by facilitating talks aimed at resolving the conflict in northern Ethiopia in a peaceful manner.

To that end, Ambassador Berhanu stated that a seven-member peace negotiating committee headed by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen had been formed and that it had already begun preparatory meetings.

As part of the African Union-led process and in accordance with the terms of the 2015 Declaration of Principles signed by Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt, the Ambassador also outlined Ethiopia’s principled stance on the equitable use of the Nile and its willingness to engage the lower riparian countries.

He went on to speak about the humanitarian operations that had been successful in the Tigray region and urged the UK and other aid organizations to intensify their efforts in expediting humanitarian aid.

Ambassador McPhail, for her part, acclaimed the Ethiopian government’s peace-building efforts to end the conflict in Tigray through negotiations and asserted the UK’s support for the African Union-led peace initiative.