Ethiopia Passes 'Pro-Poor' Budget as It Moves to Open Up Economy

• Two-thirds of spending will be on poverty reduction programs
• New premier trying to check unrest, keep up economic momentum

By Nizar Manek, 16 July 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Ethiopia’s parliament passed a 346.9 billion birr ($12.6 billion) budget, about two-thirds of it poverty reduction programs involving health, education and food security, as the Horn of African nation tries to quell unrest while sustaining the momentum of the continent’s fastest-growing economy.
In televised comments, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed described the budget as “pro-poor” and said the government still needs $7.5 billion to finish so-called mega projects, including sugar factories and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. As a result, it won’t begin new projects in the 2018-19 fiscal year, he said.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-05/ethiopian-prison-abuses-need-urgent-probe-group-tells-premier

Ethiopian Prison Abuses Need Probe, Group Tells New Premier

• Human Rights Watch cites testimony from dozens of ex-prisoners
• Nation’s new prime minister recently condemned use of torture

By Nizar Manek, 5 July 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Prisoners in Ethiopia’s eastern Somali region have been arbitrarily detained and tortured for years, Human Rights Watch said, as it urged the Horn of Africa nation’s new prime minister to order an investigation.
The allegations of abuse at the prison known as Jail Ogaden, which holds thousands of inmates mainly accused of links to a banned secessionist group, come after premier Abiy Ahmed told parliament in June that the country’s use of torture is unconstitutional. New York-based Human Rights Watch cited interviews with 70 former prisoners conducted between 2011 and this year in its report published Thursday.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-05/ethiopian-prison-abuses-need-urgent-probe-group-tells-premier

Eritrean, Abu Dhabi Leaders Meet Before Ethiopian Summit

By Nizar Manek, 4 July 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki met the crown prince of Abu Dhabi for talks about regional issues, after Ethiopia announced its new premier, Abiy Ahmed, will meet Isaias “soon.”
Mohammed Bin Zayed al Nahyan, who is also deputy supreme commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces, received Isaias Tuesday, according to Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel. Abu Dhabi Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed also attended the talks, which focused on “recent international and regional developments and trends of mutual importance,” Yemane said on his Twitter account.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/OHTESG6S972O

DP World to Set up Logistics Facility in Ethiopia, ENA Says

• Facility to help move goods to landlocked African countries
• Abu Dhabi Fund for Development gave Ethiopia $3b aid package

By Nizar Manek, 30 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
DP World Ltd. plans to set up a logistics facility in Ethiopia to facilitate the transport of goods to landlocked African countries, the Emirates News Agency reported, citing Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the Dubai state-owned port operator’s chief executive officer.
Business groups in Dubai can benefit from DP World’s presence in different countries, including Rwanda and Egypt, where re-exporting opportunities are abundant, the news agency cited him as saying.
(154 words -- Bloomberg Terminal only)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/OHTESG6S972O

Ethiopian Separatist Group Says Government Released a Top Leader

• Abdikarim Sheikh Muse was captured by Somalia in August 2017
• Release reported on Ogaden National Liberation Front Twitter

By Nizar Manek, 30 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Ethiopia has released a senior leader of the Ogaden National Liberation Front as the country’s government moves towards ending its designation as a terrorist group. 
The separatist rebel group in the border area between Ethiopia and Somalia, said via Twitter that executive committee member Abdikarim Sheikh Muse was set free. Somali agents captured Muse in the central town of Adado, 500 kilometers (311 miles) north of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, in August.
(233 words -- Bloomberg Terminal only)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/OHTESG6S972O

As Crude Tests Begin, Ethiopia Touts Nascent Oil, Gas Industry

• New premier talks of income up to $7 billion a year from gas
• Chinese company developing resources in restive Ogaden region

By Nizar Manek, 29 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Ethiopia’s nascent energy industry is gathering pace, with a unit of China Poly Group Corp. starting test output of crude oil in a volatile border region and the government estimating initial annual income of $1.2 billion when gas exports begin from the area.
Oil and gas income will be a major boost to the landlocked Horn of Africa nation’s economy, bringing in much-needed foreign exchange as well as saving on imported fuels, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said late Wednesday in a televised address. The United Arab Emirates this month pledged $3 billion in aid and investments to Ethiopia.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-29/as-crude-tests-begin-ethiopia-touts-nascent-oil-gas-industry

Ethiopian, Eritrean Leaders to Meet Soon as Tensions Thaw

• Abiy, Isaias to hold landmark talks ‘soon,’ official says
• Horn of Africa nations have been bitter foes for 20 years

By Nizar Manek, 29 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea will meet soon, Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said, the latest sign of thawing relations between the Horn of Africa nations at odds since a border war two decades ago.
A meeting between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki would cap landmark talks that began this month between officials from the two countries that fought a 1998-2000 war in which about 100,000 people died. Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of conflict.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-28/meeting-on-cards-for-ethiopia-eritrea-leaders-as-tensions-thaw

China Poly to Start Crude Production Tests in Ethiopia

By Nizar Manek, 27 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
China Poly Group Corp. Ltd. will begin crude production tests Thursday in Ethiopia’s eastern Ogaden basin near the border with Somalia after discovering natural gas in the area.
Landlocked Ethiopia expects to earn $8 billion annually once it can export natural gas at full capacity, government-controlled Fana Broadcasting Corp. reported, citing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during a meeting with representatives of the Beijing-based company.
(137 words -- Bloomberg Terminal only)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/terminal/OHTESG6S972O

Ethiopia Says Airline to Resume Eritrea Flights by September

• Airline stopped flights during border war two decades ago
• Ethiopia’s new premier is normalizing relations with neighbor

By Nizar Manek, 27 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise will reintroduce flights to Eritrea by mid-September, two decades after a border conflict upended relations between the Horn of Africa neighbors.
“Ethiopian Airlines get ready because soon you’ll start going to Eritrea and coming back,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said at a state dinner for a visiting Eritrean delegation in the capital, Addis Ababa. “Let us not transfer to our children hatred and the holding of grudges.”
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-27/ethiopia-says-airline-to-resume-eritrea-flights-by-september

Ethiopia Names New Police Chief for Capital After Blast at Rally

• Appointment follows court hearing for 26 suspects in attack
• Premier has made raft of changes since taking power in April

By Nizar Manek, 26 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Ethiopia’s prime minister appointed a new police commissioner for the capital in the wake of a grenade attack at a political rally in the city at the weekend that killed two people and wounded about 150 others.
Premier Abiy Ahmed named Brigadier-General Degfe Bedi to the post, the ruling party-funded Fana Broadcasting Corp. reported Tuesday. His appointment follows the appearance in court Monday of 26 suspects in Saturday’s attack, including a deputy commissioner of Addis Ababa’s police.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-26/ethiopia-names-new-police-chief-for-capital-after-blast-at-rally

Eritrean, Ethiopian Officials Hold Landmark Talks on Peace Deal

• Meeting comes after Ethiopian leader vowed to implement accord
• Ethiopia, Eritrea fought war in 1990s in which 100,000 died

By Nizar Manek, 26 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Eritrean and Ethiopian government officials held talks about a stalled peace deal for the first time since a conflict between the two countries ended almost two decades ago.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is seeking to normalize relations with neighboring Eritrea as part of a broader program of reforms he’s initiated since taking office two months ago. He’s also announced plans to open up the Africa’s fastest-growing economy to foreign investors and also lifted a state of emergency imposed after the snap resignation of his predecessor, Hailemariam Desalegn, in February.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-26/eritrean-officials-in-ethiopia-for-talks-on-stalled-peace-accord

Spy Chief Joins Board of Ethiopia's Key Military Conglomerate

• Adem’s placement latest shakeup at Metals & Engineering Corp.
• MeTEC has worked on projects vital to economic development

By Nizar Manek, 13 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Ethiopia’s new intelligence chief was appointed to the board of Metals & Engineering Corp., the latest shakeup at the military-industrial conglomerate that’s played a crucial role in projects that have sought to develop Africa’s fastest-growing economy.
Adem Mohammed, named director-general of the National Intelligence and Security Services last week, was appointed to the board of MeTEC by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on May 24, company spokesman Michael Desta said by phone. Adem, who previously commanded the air force, is the only military figure on the eight-person board overseeing a company that has been dominated by army personnel. It’s otherwise led by ruling-party officials.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-13/spy-chief-joins-board-of-ethiopia-s-key-military-conglomerate

Landlocked Ethiopia May Establish Naval Base at Kenyan Port

• Government may consider facility at port of Lamu near Somalia
• Ethiopia, Kenya signed accord in May to develop land at site

By Nizar Manek and David Herbling, 8 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Ethiopia, landlocked since the secession of Eritrea a quarter century ago, may consider building a naval base in neighboring Kenya to strengthen its military capabilities, the head of the state shipping company said.
The facility could form part of a port the Kenyan government is building at Lamu, said Roba Megerssa Akawak, chief executive officer of the state-owned Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise. The 390 billion-shilling ($3.87 billion) harbor near the border with Somalia is part of the so-called Lapsset project, a transport corridor that envisions linking Ethiopia and South Sudan to Kenya.
(529 words)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-08/landlocked-ethiopia-may-establish-naval-base-at-kenyan-port

Ethiopia Appoints New Army Chief After Peace Vow to Eritrea

By Nizar Manek, 7 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Ethiopia’s prime minister appointed a new army chief of staff with a specialist’s background on Eritrea, days after authorities said they’d implement a peace deal with their Horn of Africa neighbor and long-standing foe.
The appointment of Seare Mekonnen marks the first change at the top in 17 years in Ethiopia’s army, which plays a dominant role in the country that has Africa’s biggest population after Nigeria. Ethiopia is a federal state designed to give autonomy to its myriad ethnic groups, and Seare is from the Tigray community, who’ve largely held the top military, security and intelligence ranks since the then-rebel Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front seized power in 1991.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-07/ethiopia-appoints-new-chief-of-staff-for-powerful-military

Africa's ‘Sleeping Giant’ Courts Foreign Investors With Reforms

• Ethiopian government invites foreign bidders for telecoms
• Stakes available in airline, shipping company under new leader

By John Bowker, Nizar Manek, and Odwa Mjo, 6 June 2018
(Bloomberg) --
Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most-populous country and the continent’s fastest growing economy, is inviting big business to cash in.
For so long a closed shop, the Horn of Africa nation on Tuesday invited foreign investors to buy stakes in state-owned telecoms, shipping, power generation and aviation companies, a rare opportunity to access such a large market. The bonanza will extend to railways, sugar mills and industrial parks, with the top brass of the ruling party embarking on long-awaited market reforms.
(868 words)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-06-06/africa-s-sleeping-giant-courts-foreign-investors-with-reforms