Ethiopia: “a valuable and important partner” for the US
On Thursday and Friday this week [22nd and 23rd July], US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs, Ambassador Johnnie Carson, visited Ethiopia before going on to Uganda, where he would be attending the African Union Summit in Kampala. In Addis Ababa yesterday, Ambassador Carson held talks with Prime Minister Meles and Foreign Minister Seyoum. His discussions with Prime Minister Meles centred on bilateral issues and on regional concerns. High on the agenda was the international community’s role in assisting the TFG in Somalia and helping AMISOM. The recent IGAD Extra-ordinary Summit made it clear that IGAD would like to see much greater international support for AMISOM and for the TFG. Ambassador Carson expressed his condolences to the families of those who died in the Kampala bombings. He emphasised that these Al-Shabaab attacks showed how much of a threat the organisation had become to the region, and underlined the need for the TFG to be strengthened in order to establish peace and reconciliation in Somalia. Another topic of discussion was the need for full implementation of the CPA in Sudan.
Ambassador Carson also met with Foreign Minister Seyoum. In a briefing after the talks, Minister Seyoum said their discussions had revolved around furthering bilateral relations and on ways to improve US-Ethiopian ties. Recalling his visit to Washington last November and the fruitful discussions he had with high level US Government officials, the Minister underlined the need to continue to build on what has been achieved in strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. Ambassador Carson stated that Ethiopia was a valuable and important partner for the US. He drew the attention of the Foreign Minister to the various Obama Administration Partnership Initiatives towards Africa and other developing countries of which Ethiopia is a beneficiary. With respect to security issues, Ambassador Carson stated that the US wished to have stronger relations with Ethiopia. Ethiopia's security concerns, he said, were also shared by the United States.
On regional issues, the discussions focused on Somalia. Expressing appreciation to the Ethiopian Government for hosting a series of important meetings in Addis Ababa on Somalia over the previous weeks in advance of the African Union Summit in Kampala, Ambassador Carson said these would help refocus attention on the problems of Somalia. He expressed his appreciation to the Ethiopian Government for its commitment and the sacrifices it had paid to help resolve the problem in Somalia. Ambassador Carson assured the Foreign Minister that the United States would continue to work with IGAD and Ethiopia in the effort to defeat terrorist forces and bring peace and stability to Somalia.