Ethiopia Envisions Bolstering Relations with Allies, Engaging Disgruntled Countries in 2022: Spokesperson
Ethiopia’s vision for 2022 is to further bolster its relations with close allies and engage those countries that have been disgruntled and confused about the current situation in the country, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Dina Mufti said.
According to the spokesperson, the year 2021 witnessed exceptional diplomatic and citizen-centered activities in withstanding undue and unwarranted pressures and standing together for the good of Ethiopia and its people.
The pressure on Ethiopia was mainly due to issues of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), law enforcement in the northern part of the country, and the border dispute between Ethiopia and Sudan, he added.
However, Ethiopia has overcome the pressure with the help of its strong people, efforts of Ethiopians living abroad, and close friends of Ethiopia, Dina underscored.
“Ethiopia’s vision for 2022 will engage our close friends to further strengthen our relations. We will also engage those countries who have been disgruntled and confused about the situation in the country and perhaps misled by false propaganda. …We will tell them what is exactly happening in the country and hope they will rectify their position and come along with us so that we can work together to benefit of our mutual interests.”
Speaking about the current situation in the northern part of the country, he stated that the latest provocations and shellings of Abeala in Afar region by the TPLF have continued to challenge the humanitarian supply process.
“The Government of Ethiopia would like to ask the international community to condemn this egregious act by the TPLF that puts the lives of many of our people in Tigray region in danger,” the spokesperson underlined.
The terrorist group’s attack on the humanitarian supply route shows its disregard for the people in Tigray and its profiteering attitude from creating and exacerbating the food crisis in the region.
The silence of Chief of the World Food Programme about the over 1,000 hijacked trucks by the TPLF, coupled with the indifference of the international community over the latest unwarranted provocations on humanitarian supply routes in the Afar region, are putting many lives in danger, Dina revealed.
Commenting on the report of the Human Rights Watch issued yesterday alleging about mistreatment of thousands of ethnic Tigrayans deported from Saudi Arabia in the hands of the Ethiopian government, the spokesperson pointed out that the report is not only unsubstantiated but an irresponsible move aimed to discredit all the efforts that the Ethiopian government has been doing to relieve the pains of citizens that have returned from Saudi Arabia.
“We have repatriated more than 40,000 Ethiopians from Saudi Arabia in just a couple of months, regardless of ethnic group that they belong to.”
The report by the Human Rights Watch seems to accuse the Government of Ethiopia of not sending the returnees to the areas that have been affected by the conflict.
Advancing political interests at the cost of the returnees is beyond comprehension, the spokesperson noted.
He further revealed that Ethiopian diaspora and friends of Ethiopia are coming home in big numbers, following the call of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Dina said they are here to express their solidarity with the people of Ethiopia and support the reconstruction effort.
Source: Ethiopia News Agency