Finnish Foreign Minister, Pekka Haavisto, has been visiting the UAE and Saudi Arabia before travelling to Ethiopia. His aim: to resolve the war in Tigray.
The trip has been covered in the Arab media, but little information has been revealed.
It should be recalled that the Saudis have played a considerable role in the Horn. It was in their capital that the Ethiopia-Eritrea peace agreement was signed in 2018.
And UAE is reported to have cemented the 2018 deal with a $3 billion in aid and investment for Ethiopia. No similar aid was reported for Eritrea, but it was likely to have been made.
Pekka Haavisto may have concluded that the road to peace in Ethiopia runs through Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Is he right? Time will tell.
Foreign Minister Haavisto travels to Ethiopia to represent the EU crisis in Tigray on the agenda
Source: HBL
During his trip to Ethiopia, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto will meet with the country’s leadership and convey the EU’s views on the crisis in Tigray.
Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (Greens) travels to Ethiopia for the second time to represent the EU. In Ethiopia, Haavisto will discuss the country’s difficult situation, and especially the crisis in Tigray and its consequences.
The last time Haavisto traveled to Ethiopia to act as EU envoy was at the end of February.
During the trip, Haavisto will meet with Ethiopia’s leadership and convey the message of the EU’s constant concern over the humanitarian situation in Tigray. Haavisto will appeal to the warring parties to make peace. In addition, he will ask them to respect international humanitarian rights and urge them to start allowing independent reviews of the human rights violations reported.
Haavisto will also discuss the situation in Ethiopia with representatives of the African Union.
In addition to Ethiopia, Haavisto also travels to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Even there, the crisis in Tigray is the planned topic of conversation.
After the trip, Haavisto will report to the EU Foreign Affairs Council, the Council on Foreign Affairs, on the results of the discussions.
