#ASDailyScoop: German Chancellor scheduled to visit Ethiopia
Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz. Picture: bundesregierung
Addis Abeba – Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, is scheduled to visit Ethiopia on a yet-to-be-determined date, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry disclosed the visit in a dispatch on a meeting yesterday between Ambassador Mesganu Arga, State Minister of MoFA, Ambassador Christoph Retzlaff, Director for Sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel at the Foreign Office of Germany in Addis Abeba, during which the two “discussed bilateral and mutual concerns.” Ambassador Mesganu also briefed Ambassador Christoph that Ethiopia wants to see a stable & peaceful Sudan & the conflict should be resolved through dialogue, MoFA said. “Ethiopia strongly condemns the interference of external actors & encourages AU and IGAD efforts to facilitate dialogue among conflicting parties,” the Ambassador said.
The scheduled visit of Chancellor Olaf comes in the heels of the visit this month by Luise Amtsberg, German Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Assistance at the Foreign Office, when she met with civil society organizations, human rights defenders and women’s rights organizations.
Earlier in January, Foreign Ministers of Germany and France, Annalena Baerbock and Catherine Colonna, respectively, visited Ethiopia “to explore how Germany, France and the EU can support the country and its people on the path to lasting peace.”
Chancellor Olaf’s visit comes as the EU Council said on 24 April that it looked forward to “a normalization of relations with Ethiopia and stands ready to support further progress on its path towards lasting peace,” a move welcomed by Ethiopia. AS
