Egypt

Ethiopia awaits Egypt’s response to complaint regarding opposition groups

The Ethiopian government said it cooperates positively with Egypt, but awaits at the same time a response to a request it submitted to Egypt to stop the activities of opposition Ethiopian political groups that openly operate in Egypt, according to MENA.

The Foreign Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Dr. Werkineh Gebeyehu, said in an interview with MENA in Khartoum on Sunday that the activity of such groups is not undercover. They hold meetings openly, provide statements to the media and work against the unity of Ethiopia, he added.

"Relations between the Ethiopian and Egyptian governments are good and cooperative. But we definitely notified Egypt about hostile groups to Ethiopia that reside in Cairo," he said.

About the accusations against the Eritrean government with respect to backing the Ethiopian opposition, the Ethiopian official said: "The Eritrean government has been attempting to undermine security and stability in our country in different ways. This is not our belief alone, as the United Nations also believes that the Eritrean government [has] obstructed the work of the African Union for many years, and has always been trying to violate our borders, but the Ethiopian army completely controls the situation."

"The international community is familiar with such information, that's why we exert pressure on the Eritrean government to stop its violations against our country," the Ethiopian foreign minister added.

Concerning the development of relations with Gulf countries recently, he said Ethiopia adopts a foreign policy that aims to establish good relations with all countries of the world, based on common interests and on maintaining the security of the region. He added that the development of relations with Gulf countries comes on this basis, pointing out that relations with Gulf countries were already established 50 years ago.

"We have agricultural land in Ethiopia and great investment opportunities, as our country is inherently attractive to investments. Gulf states have the desire and ability to invest, and we signed bilateral investment agreements with Qatar and the United Arab Emirates."

A Saudi delegation has recently visited Ethiopia to study potential investment in response to an earlier visit by the Ethiopian prime minister to Saudi Arabia, said the foreign minister.
 
Saudi Arabia is one of the major investors in Ethiopia, especially the Saudi private sector, said the Ethiopian official, adding some Saudi investors whose investments exceed US$1 billion currently reside in Ethiopia.
 
 
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm

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