[ETH] Call to the United Kingdom

[Naio90]

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ambassador Demeke Mekonnen, would privately request an audience with his british counterpart, to be held over videoconference.

The agenda of topics to be discussed would include the development of the bilateral relation and to give an overview of Ethopia's current foreign policy.

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"We've had a request from the Republic of Ethipoia" spoke an aide to the British State Secretary, "They've asked for a video conference to discuss development of relations and about their current foreign policy. Are you available to take the call?". Emma, the Secretary, nodded. Having only just departed the Defence and Security Conference not long before. "Yes yes, I'll call them from my office" she added before moving into the privacy of her personal suite with a glass of water, closing the door behind her and shuffling into the seat before initiating a video conference with Ambassador Demeke Mekonnen. She sat patiently anticipating a response.

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

Minister Mekonnen would be informed that the british confirmed the videoconference. He would quickly call his Director for European Affairs and a note taker to be part of the meeting and give a last glance to some important documents and numbers before instructing his secretary to set up the call.

The three ethiopians would be in the Minister's private conference room, sitting around a big oval-shaped table with a TV screen on one end, where the videoconference would be played. As soon as the chennel was encrypted, the image would start showing the british State Secretary.

"Your Excellency, thank you acepting our request at such haste. I am Demekke Mekonnen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, and to my left is Ambassador Salise Kabuto, Director for European Affairs here at the Ministry."

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

Emma, sitting up and clearing her throat following the confirmation that Minister Mekonnen had just answered the call. "It's a pleasure to speak to you both, I'm Emma Ryan, the Secretary of State for the British Government.

I'd like to thank you for reaching out, I think it's real progress to have this call and it hopefully serves as the start of establishing some fruitful relations between our countries." she smiled from the video call "How are you both today?"

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"Thank you for the kind words, Madam Secretary, we are very optimistic about these talks and the potential strenghtening of the relationship between London and Addis Ababa. Everything is well on our side today, another sunny morning here, but with a lot of work ahead for the week!"

The Director for European Affairs next to the Minister would nod, thinking about the pile of documents had still had to go through before friday.

"Prime Minister Ahmed's Government gives a great value to our diplomatic relations with other great nations such as yours, and being the United Kingdom such an influential player worldwide it was only a matter of time until we finally could find the time to contact you. Obviously the Prime Minister sends his warmest regards and would have loved to be part of this meeting here today, but he is still busy with the official visit from the Empire of the Congo."

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"That's not a problem at all, I'm sure I'll get the honor of meeting him in the future as our bilateral relations develop. We currently have one of our own representatives speaking to someone from the Congo government, what is the situation like in Africa with Congo and your other neighboring states? No problems I hope?" asked Emma, adjusting her positioning to become more comforted. "I'm eager to hear about your current foreign policies in Africa, and I suppose on the international scale too."

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"Madam Secretary, our Government is totally dedicated to developing a comprehensive and active diplomatic network with nations from across the continents, which is also a key part in our current main foreign policy of integration into the global economy. Nowadays a nation cannot prosper as an isolated entity.​

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Being only recently in power in Ethiopia, our Government has just started conversations and visits to multiple countries including the US, the Netherlands, Thailand, the People's Republic of China and the Empire of the Congo. ​

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Regarding the latter, we have a very strong interest in developing an active and positive relationship with our fellow african countries, but aside from Congo and a sporadic contact from Angola, we haven't had any success. We are happy to be able to host the Emperor of the Congo in Addis Ababa, who is currently meeting with Prime Minister Ahmed. The relationship is good and we look forward to condcut several infrastructure projects and joint programs, but we do seem to have some differences in our foreign policy approach. Recent actions and public speeches point towards them having a more interventionist and militaristic policy, while be prefer to a more neutral and commercial approach.​

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This last thing goes in line with our current foreign policy being at complete service of the long term goal of having a lasting and sustainable economic development that can improve the quality of life of the people of Ethiopia. ​

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Aside from that general perspective, perhaps the most pressing issue in our current foreign agenda is the peaceful resolution of our dispute with Eritrea, regarding the formal establishment of a de jure border, as opposed to the current existence of a de facto one. The current situation only harms both of our economies by cutting Ethiopia off from the international maritime trade and Eritrea from access to economically productive zones.​

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Our intented path is a bilateral negotiation that would include a territorial swap of some of the de facto controlled areas to correct those issues and then formally decide the de jure borders based on consensus that would make both of our nations grow."​

Jamie

 

[Jamie]

"It's great to hear of your focus on bilateral relations. As you said, nations are unable to prosper when isolated, much of the worlds economy and political affairs tend to serve as an invitation to other states to be involved - even when it may not concern them remotely.

From my experiences with Congo, their approach to some situations has been questionable. Specifically regarding the conflict of Turkey which saw them escalate it, perhaps unintentionally, through military movements.
Their militaristic policy is something to watch but that said, we've not had a bad experience with Congo itself and are supporting them currently through economic means with the intention of building positive relations.

I'll be honest, my understanding of the relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea is very limited but I do hope that the relations and situation can be resolved timely and through political channels. Naturally, if there's any support the UK can offer to resolve it, we will."

Naio90

 

[Naio90]

"The issue between my nation and Eritrea is of uppermost importance for my Government and we hope to be able to solve it rather sooner than later, in order to finally be able to reinstate our access to the sea and also gain a new trade partner in the form of a economically more viable Eritrea. When the time comes, we would love to have british support for the bilateral round of negotiations, perhaps even as an observer or mediator.

Obviously we would be able to respond to any inquiry or doubt your Government might have about the issue and our future plans."

Jamie