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Source : Embassy of France in Addis Ababa
Embassy of France
Addis Ababa
October 30,2018
At the invitation of H. E. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, H. E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, made a working visit to France on October 29, 2018.
Taking into account the bonds of friendship between Ethiopia and France, both leaders restated their shared commitment to work towards the strengthening of international peace and security, and their will to deepen the bilateral relationship.
In a joint declaration, they reaffirmed their desire to establish a privileged partnership between France and Ethiopia on various themes (extracts from the joint statement):
1. Political dialogue
France and Ethiopia intend to deepen their discussions regarding the international agenda in order to find common positions, matching their shared interests.
France welcomes the rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea and both parties acknowledge the significance of stability and security matters in the Horn of Africa, to which the international community needs to pay special attention.
France restates its support to Ethiopia’s engagement within the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and to Ethiopia’s committed action within the African Union (AU), whose headquarters are hosted in Addis Ababa.
France welcomes the bold reforms initiated by the Ethiopian Prime Minister towards the deepening of democracy and of the rule of law, and we wish to reaffirm our support to Ethiopia during the transition phase the country is going through at the moment.
2. Economic, trade and development partnership
France commits to mobilize the international community in support of the reforms initiated by the Ethiopian government.
France and Ethiopia share the will to increase and diversify trade and investment opportunities, and to ensure a mutually beneficial business environment.
France commits to work towards the deployment of a program supporting the reforms initiated by H. E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed, in order to back the economic opening-up of Ethiopia.
Both States welcome the intensification of the French Development Agency’s activities in Ethiopian and in particular in support of Ethiopian Airlines and the cities of Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa (signature of declarations of intent).
3. Inter-university, educational and linguistic cooperation
Considering that education and youth are priorities, France and Ethiopia commit to strengthen their inter-university and educational cooperation, including vocational education and training, scientific research (together with the French Center for Ethiopian Studies and its partners) and linguistic cooperation.
Both parties welcome the expansion of the Lycée français Guébré-Mariam (LGM) in Addis Ababa, as a top-level high school with more than 60% of Ethiopian students. Both States will strive to support the increase in the number of Ethiopian students in France, and foster the training of teachers.
They will continue their cooperation in order to promote the teaching of the French language in the Ethiopian education system
4. Cultural cooperation
France and Ethiopia restate their commitment to support linguistic and cultural diversity.
France fosters the mobilization of Ethiopian young artists and of the Ethiopian civil society within the framework of the Season of African Cultures 2020.
Both States will continue their cooperation regarding conservation and valorization of heritage, museums and archives, and scholarly and vocational training for heritage-related professions.
5. Defense and security cooperation
France welcomes the very positive role Ethiopia is playing within UN and African (especially AMISOM) peacekeeping operations. Ethiopia and France support the co-financing by the AU and the UN, on a case by case basis, of African peace operations successively authorized by the AU Peace and Security Council and by the UN Security Council.
In order to strengthen the bonds of friendship between France and Ethiopia, H. E. Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, will visit Addis Ababa in March 2019.
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