Nat’l Dialogue Would Bring Consensus, Ensure Lasting Peace: House of Federation Speaker

Ethiopia’s upcoming national dialogue would bring about national consensus which in turn would ensure lasting peace, House of Federation Speaker Agegnehu Teshager said.

In his keynote speech to the Association of Senates, Shoora and Equivalent Councils in Africa and the Arab World (ASSECA) in Rabat, Morocco, the speaker reminded the gathering that the threat posed against the sheer existence of the Ethiopian polity and the country has been thwarted with the help of African brothers and other friends.

The Ethiopian people came together defending their sovereignty and assured the continuation of the Ethiopian state, he added.

Agegnehu noted that the Ethiopian Government has recently decreed a unilateral ceasefire, opened humanitarian corridors and brought to justice perpetrators of wrongful acts.

To further bring national consensus the government established the National Dialogue Commission which is tasked with facilitating an inclusive dialogue and reconciliation process.

According to the speaker, the “national dialogue would bring about national consensus which would in turn ensure lasting peace. The process of establishing the commission followed the supreme law of the land in consultation with main stakeholders staffed with competent and neutral professionals.”

Agegnehu also stated that geopolitics has taken a worrying and unpredictable turn and the victims in these types of races are of course the poor.

“Let me refer to an area dear and near to me,” he said, adding that “the Red Sea and Horn of Africa region was during the cold war and has once again become a point of contention among powerful entities. Ethiopia has been able to fend off a threat so daunting with the help of our African brothers in various forums and working on behalf of Ethiopians. In a way it portrayed the importance of South-South cooperation in a geo-strategic affair.”

He also pointed out that Ethiopia looks forward devotedly to further strengthening its parliamentary relations with Africa, the Arab world, and Latin and Caribbean countries.

“We shall further strengthen our cooperation and learn from each other in order to realize our common vision for the benefit of our peoples and achieve peaceful, prosperous and integrated countries,” the speaker underscored.

Source: Ethiopia News Agency