ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – Ethiopia’s government has inked a souped-up military cooperation deal with China, aiming to swap expertise and pick up technical know-how due to the constantly shifting landscape of tech.
Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, who heads the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, steered a heavyweight military team to the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum for discussions.
This forum flaunted representation from more than 100 countries, pulling in over 500 delegates altogether. A brainy bunch of more than 200 scholars from China and beyond expanded conversations on safety and defense matters.
According to Ethiopia’s state-chummy Fana broadcaster, over 30 defense chiefs and military bigwigs showed up, with high-ranking officials from diverse global and regional organizations.
Field Marshal Berhanu sat down with General Liu Zhenli, who runs the Joint Staff Department of China’s People’s Liberation Army, hashing out ways to boost military synergy. They zeroed in on fifth-gen warfare, tech swaps, and beefing up military capabilities and gear.
Post-discussion, they inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to seal their promises. Ethiopia’s envoy to China, Tefera Derbew, told Fana Broadcasting Corporation that the top-level gang’s involvement in the forum and the bilateral chinwags are expected to beef up Ethiopia’s defense prowess.
This team-up lands at a tense time, with Ethiopia in hot water over plans to gobble up Somali land after a deal with North Western State of Somalia—a breakaway area offering 20 kilometers of the Red Sea for its sovereignty.
Somalia, in a dash, has clinched military pacts with Egypt and Turkey, ramping up jitters in the Horn of Africa. On top of that, Ethiopia is grappling with a heap of domestic issues, a vulnerability Somalia is ready to pounce on, stirring the current muddle.
AXADLETM
