Press Releases Federica Mogherini at the African Union Summit; holds bilateral meetings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Federica Mogherini at the African Union Summit; holds bilateral meetings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Federica Mogherini at the African Union Summit; holds bilateral meetings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, 10 February 2019, 10/02/2019 – 21:32, UNIQUE ID: 190210_1

The High Representative/Vice President Federica Mogherini was in Addis on 9 and 10 February 2019 as part of a visit to the Horn of Africa, to express the EU’s steadfast support to the government’s progressive reform agenda in the political, economic and regional spheres.

Federica Mogherini met with the African Union Commission’s Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat, together with Commissioner Neven Mimica, to discuss how to further deepen the already excellent cooperation between the European Union and the African Union.

During her visit to the Ethiopian capital, Federica Mogherini was received by the President Sahle-Work Zewde in the Presidential Palace. The High Representative congratulated the President for her key role in a country engaged in economic and political reforms. The internal situation and the recent developments in the region were also discussed.

The High Representative met also with the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Dr. Abiy Ahmed, her second meeting with him after his trip to Brussels on 24 January 2019. The Ethiopian reform process was at the core of the talks. The High Representative renewed the support of the European Union to the reform process and to accelerate peace-building and reconciliation in the country.

Welcoming the Prime Minister’s commitments to further open up the economy to the private sector, Federica Mogherini reiterated EU support in this regard, notably through the Africa-Europe Alliance and the organisation of an EU-Ethiopia Business Event in Brussels in the coming months. Recent regional dynamics, in particular the rapprochement between Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, were also discussed, and the High Representative reiterated the EU’s support to regional economic integration.

During her visit, Federica Mogherini also held the first Ministerial meeting under the EU-Ethiopia Strategic Engagement with Minister for Foreign Affairs Workneh Gebeyehu, with whom she reviewed progress under the six sectoral dialogues and she agreed to further continue dialogue and cooperation in the coming months. To illustrate the EU’s commitment to Ethiopia, she highlighted the recently announced package of €360 million in support of the Ethiopian reforms for 2019-2020.

In addition to the meetings with the authorities, Federica Mogherini visited an IOM transit centre,  funded by the European Union, with Director General Antonio Vitorino, and talked to Ethiopian returnees.

In the margins of the African Union summit, Mogherini held also bilateral meetings with ​the  President of Burkina Faso, Rich Marc Kabore; the President of the Central African Republic,  Faustin Archangel Touadera; the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Félix Antoine Tshilombo Tshisekedi; the President of Somalia, Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo; the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni; the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tanzania, Augustine Philip Mahiga; the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Algeria, Abdelkader Messahel

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