Somalilandsun:Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed deserves the most prominent speaker’s place at this year’s General Assembly VIP debate in September, the Swedish
Ambassador to the United Nations Olof Skoog, whose country is winding up
its presidency of the Security Council, said, according to Xinhua news
agency.
The Ambassador was referring to the new Ethiopian prime minister’s
stunningly successful peace efforts with neighboring Eritrea.
“When there is this very bold, historic leader coming in — in this case in
Ethiopia — just changing the paradigm in favor of peace, shouldn’t we just
devote this General Assembly to give him the most prominent speaker’s
place?” Skoog asked yesterday.
The Ethiopian government under the leadership of Abiy unexpectedly
announced on June 5 that it fully accepts the terms of a 2000 peace
agreement with Eritrea and the outcome of UN-backed boundary commission
ruling.
Abiy then traveled to Eritrea and signed a Joint Declaration of Peace and
Friendship with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on July 9, formally
ending the state of war and normalizing relations between the two countries.
The example that Abiy set is extraordinary, given the fact that so many
other countries are investing so much time in just defining why they need
to be opposed to their neighbor, Skoog told reporters.
“If we can turn that energy instead into seeing what if we would invest all
that money, all that diplomacy, all that military buildup in looking at
what a peaceful existence could look like, that would be a boost to the
General Assembly and would really serve coming back to the ideas of the
(UN) Charter.”
Skoog said the UN Security Council should consider lifting sanctions
against Eritrea given the breakthrough.
“We believe that the council should seize this moment to firmly recognize
peace and normalize the relations between the international community and
Eritrea by deciding to review the sanctions regime as soon as possible,” he
told reporters.
What is happening in the Horn of Africa is truly historic, he said, “It is
very important that we support those historically positive developments in
any way we can.”
Source: ENA
