As for Britain, the United States’ closest ally, it has taken a more pragmatic approach in its relations with Ethiopia in the present case.

It followed what the Cabinet Press Office described as a “warm and wide-ranging” telephone conversation between British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his Ethiopian counterpart, Taye Atske Selassie.

Significantly, two weeks earlier, the British firm Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) and Beirut-based Dar Al Handasah won a consultancy contract to design Africa’s largest new airport for Ethiopian Airlines, which will be located 40 kilometers from the Ethiopian capital. The construction cost is estimated at $6 billion for the first phase alone. It will serve up to 60 million passengers annually and in future its capacity can be gradually increased to 100 million passengers.

China, while it does not usually intervene openly in disputes between African states, has spoken out concerning the conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia, in both of which countries it has interests, although more in the former than in the latter. China stressed the importance of complying with international law, saying it “supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia and calls on all parties to engage in dialog and cooperation to ensure peace and stability in the region to avoid external aggression.”

But nevertheless, China has not just stay aside. On September 6 this year, on the sidelines of the Forum on China Africa Cooperation, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a currency “swap” agreement, aimed at expanding financial and economic cooperation by trading in the two countries’ national currencies, the birr and the yuan. China also provided Ethiopia with a one-time aid payment of 400 million yuan, equivalent to about $56 million.

Ethiopia’s main ally continues to be the UAE.

Their cooperation is based on 17 agreements concluded following the official visit of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Addis Ababa on August 18-19, 2023, to deepen cooperation in areas such as agriculture, finance and investment, the chemicals, pharmaceutical, aluminum and food industries, and the fight againstterrorism.

Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. said the results of the talks were a testament to the strengthening of the “special relationship” between the two states. Many experts, however, consider that as a result of the UAE President’s visit to Ethiopia, that relationship has in effect been upgraded to a strategic........

© New Eastern Outlook