Ethiopia closes diplomatic missions in Tigray conflict
NAIROBI, Kenya – The Ethiopian federal government has started implementing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s order to close several embassies and consulates, Addis Ababa Standard has established, in a move that could reduce its overseas presence.
Already, the government has started recalling diplomats home from missions who are expected to remain operational, with the aim of reducing “operating” costs, according to besieged Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has been at the helm since 2018.
Earlier this week, Abiy, who had also withdrawn the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] from Tigray following a costly war, said there was no reason to fund foreign missions that can work comfortably from the Horn of Africa country.
According to sources who spoke to Addis Ababa Standard, at least 18 staff from the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington DC have been recalled. An addition of five staff of the Permanent Mission to the United Nations was recalled, leaving only three.
The Addis Standard has also learned from sources familiar with the matter that the Ethiopian consulates in Los Angeles, Frankfurt and Minnesota will be closed and that staff members will be recalled to their homes.
The Minnesota Consulate in the United States was opened in 2018 shortly after the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed took office. Unfortunately, this is one of the missions affected in the radical surgery in progress at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ahmed is facing the House of Representatives earlier this week, where he responded to a number of issues facing the Horn of Africa country, including shrinking financial fortunes and resolve for security. It was here that he alluded to the closure of nearly 30 foreign missions.
“Ethiopia should close at least 30 of its embassies,” he said while explaining the decision to MPs, saying it was purely for economic reasons.
Additionally, the Prime Minister’s remarks came with criticism of the performance of the country’s missions abroad. The prime minister, who is facing multiple challenges, including a deterioration of the security situation in the country due to conflicts, an economic crisis due to a shortage of foreign currency among many others, explained on Monday the need to a change in the country’s foreign policy initiatives.
According to the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [MoFA]Ethiopia currently has 59 missions abroad. The ministry has been widely criticized for the recent genocide in Tigray, with a number of foreign countries accusing Ethiopia of withholding crucial information.
Withdrawal of ENDF troops, Eritrea and Amhara regional forces alleviated the crisis in Tigray but the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray [TPLF] otherwise known as the Tigray Defense Forces [TDF] called for a negotiated ceasefire.
A number of members of the international community have accused Addis Ababa of starving the population of Tigray by blocking aid teams trying to access the region. The conflict is far from over-given hard positions taken by the two conflicting parties.
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