Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen briefs President of DRC Félix Tshisekedi on operation in Tigray and GERD

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen briefed the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, H.E. Félix Tshisekedi on Wednesday (November 18) about the ongoing operation in Tigray and the negotiation over the GERD.

He conveyed the message and greetings of H.E. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed to H.E. President of DRC Félix Tshisekedi.

Discussing about the ongoing law enforcement operation in Tigray, Mr. Demeke reiterated how the rogue and intransigent TPLF clique have been undermining the sweeping reform that brought hope to Ethiopian citizens.

He said the TPLF junta has also been playing a destructive role in financing, organizing and deploying extremist groups in the country for the last two and a half year.

Testing the government’s patience to its limits, said Mr.Demeke, the TPLF group brutally attacked the Northern Command Force on November 04, 2020.

He said the operation in Tigray would end rapidly restoring the rule of law in the region and bringing the perpetrators of the heinous crime to justice.

President Félix Tshisekedi thanked Mr. Demeke for his briefing and underscored that the government’s law enforcement operation in Tigray is a domestic affair which does not call for any external intervention.

He said the government of Ethiopia has the obligation to protect the constitutional order and uphold the the rule of law when extremist groups act unconstitutionally to meet their objectives.

In their discussion about the ongoing negotiation over the GERD, Mr. Demeke underlined Ethiopia’s desire to work together with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in water and natural resource development and other fields.

Mr. Demeke noted that as the main sources of the Nile River, the two countries need to utilize the water resources to accelerate their economic development.

He also expressed his confidence that the Democratic Republic of the Congo would ratify the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) over the Nile Basin water resources.

President Félix Tshisekedi expressed his hope that Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt would reach a negotiated agreement regarding outstanding issues of the GERD negotiation.

The president also reaffirmed his decision to further consult on relevant bodies to ratify the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA).