On 23 August 2022, H.E Ambassador Teshome Toga briefed Professor Li Xinfeng – President of China-Africa Institute (CAI), and Horn of Africa scholars at the institute on the current internal situations of Ethiopia.
The Ambassador mainly focused his briefing on the war in Northern Ethiopia, the peace negotiation process and the national dialogue commission.
While explaining about the war in the Northern Part of Ethiopia, the Ambassador noted that the government was forced to engage in this war after it had made multiple efforts to avoid the war from the start. Even after the war broke out, the Ambassador said, the government announced a unilateral cease fire to give peace a chance mid of war. The government has even gone further in announcing an indefinite humanitarian cease fire to help facilitate and fast track the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the region, said the Ambassador.
Furthermore, he explained that the government, in its pursuit of peace, has announced its readiness for peace negotiation without preconditions and that both sides have setup negotiating committees and talks are in progress. Moreover, he highlighted on the establishment of a national dialogue commission of 11 members which has been setup by the House of People’s Representatives of Ethiopia to conduct an all inclusive dialogue with the aim of resolving the history and national identity contentions that have grappled the country for decades. The ambassador also noted that the government of Ethiopia is deeply honored and is very much thankful of China’s support to Ethiopia throughout this challenging time in a show of strong partnership and true friendship.
Professor Li Xinfeng on his part thanked the Ambassador for briefing him and his team directly in-person and said that he is very much grateful for being briefed by the Ambassador rather than hearing about it from the media. He also noted that CAI will continue to work with the Embassy very closely in future engagements.
