"New era" in relations with Britain

Britain has pledged more than US $40 million to Ethiopia over the next three years in the first aid agreement since the end of the war with Eritrea. British Ambassador to Ethiopia Myles Wickstead said the agreement, which was signed Wednesday, was a significant breakthrough for both countries. "These are the first talks for four years and it is an important signal of the strengthening relationship between our two countries," he said at the British Embassy in Addis Ababa. Britain stopped aid to Ethiopia, along with many countries around the world, after the start of the devastating two-year war with Eritrea. The ambassador said he believed Ethiopia would abide by the decision of the Boundary Commission later this month which will rule on delimitation of the common border with Eritrea. "The government has made it very clear and it is on the record that it will accept the recommendations of the Boundary Commission," he said. "We think that it is absolutely the right attitude and peace and stability are of course one of the pre-conditions for economic growth and development." Barrie Ireton, Director General of the UK’s Department for International Development and who was making his first visit to Ethiopia in four years, echoed his remarks. "We have no reason to believe that the results of that commission will not be accepted," he said. Ireton added: "We thought, and the government thought, that the time was right now to have some serious development talks and to take stock of where we want to go in the future." He admitted that the GBP 30 million commitment was less than that of other countries, given the scale of the problems in Ethiopia, but said it was the beginning of a new era between the two nations. Ireton said the amount did not disappoint the Ethiopian government, adding: "They recognise that we have done quite a lot of work over the last year and we are now at a threshold." The money would be used for capacity building within the government, food security and the education sector "within the context of poverty reduction strategy", he said. The State Minister of Finance and Economic Development and head of the Ethiopian delegation also praised the new initiative. Dr Mulu Ketsela said the time was right to foster greater trade and development between the two countries. "We believe that the British government can be our invaluable partner in our capacity development programme and also in the fight to eradicate poverty so as to ensure economic growth," she said.