Constitution that Recognizes Diversity Triggers Ethiopian Development
03 November, 2015KHARTOUM (SUDANOW) - The Ethiopian Ambassador to Khartoum, His Excellency Abadi Zemo, sheds light in the following interview on Sudan and Ethiopia bilateral relations and common experiences:
Q: How do you assess the relations between Sudan and Ethiopia?
A: The relations of both countries date back to the time of Axum and Merowe kingdoms and there are close ties between the two peoples who lived in one another country over the years. They both share long border and drink water from the same river. Currently, the relationship has reached its best level in all aspects but particularly in the political and security side.
Q: Ethiopia, like Sudan, is a diverse country …will you, please, highlight your experience in managing this diversity?
A: Ethiopia’s population is now above ninety million, which is the second most populated country in Africa. Its people are diversified and over 80 different languages are spoken. The country’s history has been a war history and there were many uprisings and military engagements by the people at large and by many armed groups against the then governments. This has brought the country to its knees and left it to be the poorest country in our planet. The main reason for this was lack of recognizing the diversity and let it to flourish. It is only the last twenty four years that the country adopted a constitution that recognized its diversity and stated their full rights to develop their languages, culture, history, religion, and ensure fair distribution of the country’s wealth and participate and represent in the government bodies in a fair manner. We can conclude that now Ethiopia is at peace, flourishing democracy and working hard to develop its economy. We say that the three pillars, i.e. Peace, enhanced economic development and democracy are inseparable and should be nurtured simultaneously. This has allowed it to register a double digit growth over the last decade and maintain its peace.
Q: There is big social and cultural similarity between the two peoples …How could such merit be utilized to develop the bilateral relations?
A : There is a good base and a good start that should be further augmented. Cultural exchanges, tourism, sports, various experience sharing workshops, student exchange programs, etc. should be organized periodically and in a more systematic way.
Q: Sudan and Ethiopia share long borders … is there a mechanism to arrange movement of the people?
A: The aspiration of the two countries is to see the free movement of people, capital, commodities and technology. We need to work hard to realize this one and it needs a tiresome effort. What is happening now is the movement of people mainly induced by human traffickers. This definitely should be curbed and fought. The Ethiopian Government has set up a national committee headed by the Deputy Prime Minister and this goes down to the regions up to the lowest level. Besides, the law is being revised so that it could make it more difficult for human traffickers. Definitely, there are certain progresses but not up to the expected level. On the other hand there is a need for agricultural and other workers on seasonal basis. This is not organized properly and affects both sides terribly. This could be organized and could be done with close
collaboration of both governments at the national and regional levels.
Q: Despite these efforts by the two countries gangs of illegal migration are still active …..how to curb these illegal activities in the future?
A: The root cause for the illegal migration is poverty. Despite the fast development and achieving of the millennium development goal of reducing poverty by half, still Ethiopia is poor and about 22% of its people live under the poverty line. So to stem out illegal migration our fighting against poverty should be enhanced and that is what the Ethiopian government has been doing by allocating 70% of its annual budget to pro poor sectors over the last decade. This will continue and hopefully in the coming 10-15 years the poverty level will go down to its lowest level. This does not mean until such development is achieved people should go out. We believe that they should stay at their home country and strive to change their lot. Here the problem is the human traffickers, who are giving false promise to the would be migrants: if they go to Sudan, they will get a salary of US$500 or even more per month or that they can easily go to the Middle East or Europe. That is why it is so important to tackle both problems consistently. That is what we are doing and has started to show some progress.
Q: There are some calls for formation of joint troops to guard the borders.....what about that?
A: There is always a need to secure peace at our boarders and both militaries have agreed to have common posts and secure them. This definitely, should be bolstered and ensure our borders security.
Q: Ethiopia, similar to Sudan, is an agricultural state…Does there any cooperation between the two countries for the common interests?
A: There is a desire to work together and I hope that the opportunity will come soon. Ethiopia’s imports of wheat, oil, cotton and other commodities from outside is growing time after time and there is no reason why these commodities that could grow here could not replace those imports from other far countries. This is possible for Sudan, a country endowed with huge agricultural land, abundant water and the supply of cheap electricity from Ethiopia.
Q: The trade exchange between Sudan and Ethiopia is far less than expected …what is the reason?
A: There is progress but this is far from what is expected. Over 70 types of agricultural products are imported from Ethiopia and in most cases their market share is less than 1%, which shows that there is a wide room for increment. The main export from Sudan is gas oil. This needs to be changed and could be changed for good if what is agreed is implemented
with great vigor and push. The trade volume of the countries varies in the range of $200 to $300 million annually. As I mentioned above it is very low and I am not satisfied.
Q: There are suggestions to establish free zone on the common borders … are there any practical steps in this regard?
A : Yes there is an ongoing work to establish economic zones at the border areas and both countries have established a technical and steering committees. The steering committees are headed by His Excellency the Vice President Hassobo Mohamed Abul Rahman from the Sudan side and on the Ethiopian side by his Excellency Dr. Debre Sion at the rank of Deputy Prime
Minister, who heads the economic cluster.
Q: Ethiopia has started to use Sudan sea port (Port-Sudan), how far could Ethiopia benefit from this?
A: Ethiopia is a landlocked country but surrounded by more than eight ports. Currently, over 90% of its import and export is carried out through the Djibouti port. Port Sudan is one of the ports that Ethiopia could use and has been used in a very limited way. It has been used mainly to export sesame produced in the Northern part of Ethiopia but for the first time a trial import of 50,000 metric tons of fertilizer was done this year in a successful way with great collaboration of the Sudanese Government. In order, to increase its use the infrastructure, mainly the railway that runs from Port Sudan to Gedarif needs to be rehabilitated in the short term and a new rail way needs to be built by both countries. This means the
memorandum of understanding that was signed has to come into force.
Q: Sudanese businessmen are willing to invest in Ethiopia…what are the available opportunities and facilities in this field?
A: The Sudanese businessmen have shown strong interest in investing in Ethiopia and many have started operation. They are allowed to invest in any field except in those limited areas such as banking and insurance, telecommunication and the like, which are exclusively left for nationals. The embassy has a big role in encouraging investment between the two countries. It works in promoting and explaining to potential investors what the opportunities are and why they should invest in Ethiopia, besides trying to respond to certain queries and sorting out some difficulties that could arise in the process.
Q: It seems that there are still some reservations about the construction of the Millennium Dam ..Why?
A: Ethiopia believes that without putting its rivers into use there could not be any development in the country. In doing so it also recognizes that it has to use them wisely without affecting the interest of the downstream countries significantly. However, all along River Nile has been a source of tension and mistrust among the countries. Despite Ethiopia being the source of 85% of the water, it has been told not to use even a liter of water. I believe that this
thinking, which doesn’t consider other countries to fairly use this wealth, is the source of the current displeasure.
Ethiopia firmly stands for a win – win solution and leave behind us the zero sum game that has been followed for many years. Ethiopia has gone an extra mile and suggested to both Sudan and Egypt to set up a technical team and study all aspects of the dam so as to win over their confidence. Accordingly, the international panel of experts that comprises two from each country and another four international experts was set up and conducted its work for about a year. Based on this study it was proved that the share of the water will not be affected and also came out with a set of recommendations, which Ethiopia accepted gladly and is striving to implement them. Besides, the declaration of principles of agreement was signed here in Sudan and a follow up steps have been taken. I think what is required is to ensure that the recommendations are implemented, and I believe they will make all three countries more comfortable.
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