US’s Blinken meets Ethiopian leaders to repair bilateral ties
Blinken’s trip is the latest in a series of visits to Africa by senior US officials as the US looks to reinforce ties with the continent amid competition from China and Russia.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met Ethiopia’s foreign minister in Addis Ababa, as both governments look to repair relations following friction over the two-year war in the Tigray region.
“There is a lot to be done. Probably the most important thing is to deepen the peace that has taken hold in the north,” Blinken told reporters after the meeting on Wednesday.
Blinken, who began his talks with Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen with a coffee ceremony, was also due to meet Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and leaders of the Tigrayan forces that battled the federal government in the war in the northern region.
“We have longstanding relations and it is time to revitalise them and move forward,” Demeke said.
The US senior diplomat will head to the West African nation of Niger, which has been confronting armed groups, on Thursday.
Blinken’s trip is the latest in a series of visits to Africa by senior US officials as the administration of President Joe Biden looks to reinforce ties with countries on the continent amid competition from China and Russia.
The US was outspoken in its criticism of alleged atrocities by Ethiopian forces and their allies during the Tigray war, which killed tens of thousands of people before a peace accord was reached last November.
Washington imposed wide-ranging restrictions on economic and security assistance to Ethiopia and cut access to the African Growth and Opportunity Act, a duty-free trade programme that has been a boon for the US textile sector. Read More…
