USA plans to lift Aid sanctions on Ethiopia
Foreign Policy has reported that US President Biden administration, which has been in conflict with the government in the war between the federal government and the TPLF, which has been going on for two years and ended in October of the current year, is going to lift the embargo on aid and financial support to Ethiopia.
According to the information that the magazine has heard from the authorities, the Biden administration will announce the lifting of the sanctions through Antonio Blinken, the head of the country’s foreign affairs office, to be heading to Addis Ababa soon.
US, which has been issuing repeated statements during the war in the north and played a major role in the peace agreement process between the federal government and TPLF.
In May 2020, when the war started, that the government of Ethiopia and Eritrea imposed the first severe sanctions on the authorities by US.
At the same time, Ethiopian and Eritrean officials, military and security personnel, as well as the Amhara regional forces and members of the TPLF have been banned from US visas.
The US State Department reached this decision because of the rejection of its efforts to stop the conflict in the Tigray region and withdraw the Eritrean soldiers from the region, to improve the supply of humanitarian aid, and to bring the forces involved in the conflict to negotiations.
Following the sanctions of the US government, in December 2021, recalled that AGOA’s tax-free privilege, which Ethiopia had been using for 20 years, was canceled.
As a result, the relationship between Ethiopia and the United States was strengthened, and the cessation of the war in the north, which killed hundreds of thousands, is bringing the authorities of the two countries closer together, after the cessation of hostilities, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed participated in the American-African Leaders’ Forum, heading to Washington.
According to the information that has just been released, the issue of withdrawing the aid and financial support that the US government has been giving to Ethiopia has created a division among the officials of the Biden administration.
In the matter, the group including Molly Fee, the assistant head of African affairs at the US State Department, is said to be of the position that relations with Ethiopia can return to normal, and the group including Samanta Power, the country’s TADO manager said should wait a little longer. It was heard that there is an issue that needs to be fixed by the Ethiopian government.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Meles Alem, said in a press conference yesterday that the US Secretary of State, Antonio Blinken, who is supposed to publicize the matter, is about to go to Ethiopia.
Although Blinken’s spokesperson said that he will talk with high government officials during his visit to Ethiopia and he didn’t mentioned when Blinken will visit Ethiopia.
