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Diplomatic officials from France and Germany traveled to Addis Ababa on Thursday to support peace in Tigray, more than two months after the agreement that ended the conflict in northern Ethiopia.
During a two-day visit shortly after the Tigray rebels began surrendering their heavy weapons, Catherine Colonna and Analena Beerbok are expected to meet with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Foreign and Justice Ministers, and African representatives. Unions and human rights activists.
They will also visit the distribution center of the World Food Program to see the implementation of Ukrainian donations of 50,000 tons of wheat to Ethiopia and Somalia, funded by Paris and Berlin with €14 million each.
READ MORE: Tiglayan rebels begin handing over heavy weapons to Ethiopian government
After two years of fratricidal wars that displaced more than two million Ethiopians from their homes and left hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation, Paris and Berlin’s goal was to “support the peace process. ‘, Colonna said on Twitter.
Ministers are keen to convey the message of the EU’s readiness to re-engage Ethiopia, provided the ceasefire is respected and a transitional judicial mechanism is put in place.
After the peace agreement, the delivery of humanitarian assistance has gradually resumed and basic services (electricity, banking, transport, etc.) are gradually being restored.
However, residents and aid workers in various parts of Tigray recently told AFP that looting and persecution continued in the area.
READ MORE: Ethiopia: Fear, looting and scarcity normalize in Tigray despite peace deal
A major outstanding issue is the withdrawal of Eritrean forces, which provided decisive support to Ethiopian forces during the conflict.
Eritrea, which borders northern Tigre, was not present at the Pretoria talks where the 2 November agreement was signed.
Another point of contention is the part of western Tigray invaded by forces from neighboring Ethiopia’s Amhara region. This fertile area is administratively part of the Tigray and is claimed by Amharic nationalists to be “ancestral land”, which they contest in court.
The Horn of Africa and Ethiopia in particular are among the EU’s preferred partners, and China is strengthening its position in the region, as demonstrated by the visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang to Addis Ababa earlier this week. increase.
READ MORE: Ethiopian, Tigray rebel officials meet to discuss implementation of peace deal
“We want to continue to strengthen the partnership between the African Union and Europe,” Burbock tweeted.
The joint visit by the two ministers will also be a “strong symbolic beacon” ahead of the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the signing of the Élysée Treaty on January 22, when Franco-German reconciliation will be concluded.
This is not the first joint overseas visit by French and German diplomatic leaders, and there have already been others, such as Jean-Marc Hérault and Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who visited the Sahel together in May 2016. also had many visits.
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