Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on Friday went to Juba on a visit to meet with South Sudanese President, Vice President and Parliament members, according to Radio Tamazuj.
Hailemariam is one of the guarantors of the peace deal signed last year and Ambassador Seyoum Mesfin was the chief mediator of the deal.
When he arrived at the Juba International Airport, Hailemariam was received by the First Vice President Taban Deng Gai, Foreign Minister, Deng Alor, and Cabinet Minister Martin Elia among other government officials.
He is expected to meet President Salva Kiir at state house, and with the vice president, and then will proceed to parliament where he will address the Transitional National Assembly.
After his address he is expected to proceed back to the state house known as J1 where he will sign a memorandum of understanding and issue a joint communiqué with the South Sudanese government. (ENA)
EPRDF set to make leadership appointments based on performance review
The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) said it would make leadership appointments at federal and regional levels based on the performance review it conducted recently.
In a meeting it held from 24-27, October 2016, Executive Committee of the Front evaluated the ongoing in-depth reform campaign as successful, according to a statement the Front sent to FBC yesterday.
After reviewing the performance reports of the in-depth reform campaign carried out by the four major organizations that make up the Front, the Committee verified that the reform program is going on as per the stated direction.
The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front and its member organizations have gone too far to meet the demand of the people for development, democracy and peace, which are the basic questions of the public, the statement said.
The successive economic growth registered over the past 25 years allowed the country to move forward by reliably overturning Ethiopia’s centuries of economic downturn, it said. (FBC)
Ethiopians to leave Qatar on amnesty
With the one-and-a-half month-long Qatari Amnesty Plan period already coming to and, about 117 Ethiopians have decided to leave the country, the Ethiopian Embassy in Qatar said.
Qatar has offered a three-month amnesty for all illegal residents to “leave the country without facing any legal consequences for overstay”.
Ethiopian Embassy Minister Counselor, Shibru Mamo Kedida, estimated that “about 2,000 undocumented Ethiopian expatriates were likely to be staying in Qatar”.
Speaking to Qatar Tribune recently, he said the Embassy has completely supported the amnesty plan by the Qatari government so that the Ethiopians who are residing illegally could return home and start their lives afresh.
“We are happy with this amnesty plan. Many Ethiopians after arriving in Qatar have been cheated by brokers who sell visas and exposing them to various problems. These Ethiopians are forced to work without a Qatar ID and this amnesty is a golden opportunity for them.” (ENA)
WB finances Addis Ababa’s economic dev’t
The World Bank (WB) announced that it has proposed a program to support Addis Ababa’s development endeavors in various aspects.
The development program will mainly focus in providing technical assistance to enhance economic growth and job creations in the capital, one of the rapidly growing cities in Africa, World Bank’s Urban Specialist Emma Hobson told journalists here yesterday.
According to her, the program will allow the city to get a better technical assistance in various development projects including infrastructure, job creation, capacity building, strategic planning and research, among others.
The World Bank has allocated 700, 000 US dollars for the implementation of the program, which will last for the next two budget years, Hobson noted.
Head of Addis Ababa Mayor Office, Asegid Getachew, said that the Bank has been supporting the national development drive of Ethiopia in infrastructure, job creation and investment.
The new program will help the city to enhance its economic performance and join other similar cities of the middle income countries. (EPA)