A Week in the Horn 21.03.2025
The Lomé Convention of 1975 is marked as an important milestone for the beginning of an official bilateral partnership between Ethiopia and the European Union. Though some EU member states already built relations that go back more than half a millennium, the Lomé Convention created a framework for dynamic and enduring relationships, including for development aid, trade cooperation, and technical assistance.
Over the past five decades, the cooperation between Ethiopia and the EU has been widening in scope and coverage. The 2016 Joint Declaration towards a Strategic Partnership Agreement aims to accelerate efforts in working towards a strategic partnership between Ethiopia and the EU by strengthening cooperation on a wide range of issues such as development cooperation, trade and economic development, consolidation of democratic institutions, regional peace and security, and migration, as well as on thematic international agendas such as climate change.
It is well known that Ethiopia has been exerting a huge effort in areas of poverty reduction, economic growth, and infrastructure development over the past years. In this regard, the EU’s development cooperation, investments, and humanitarian assistance have been instrumental in supporting the overall development of the economy. The EU has also been a key partner in supporting the success of Ethiopia’s “bold and historic” comprehensive microeconomic reform agendas.
Ethiopia and the EU are also working closely on regional security issues. Mounting and complex crises in the region, an apparent resurgence of Al-Shabaab, the expansion of ISIS, Houthi attacks across the Red Sea and their collusion with Al-Shabaab, pose unprecedented threats to peace and security in the Horn of Africa and beyond. It is obvious that averting these extraordinary threats requires closer collaboration and concerted effort.
In this regard, Ethiopia is committed to joining hands with the EU and other partners in service of its national interests and a humble contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security.
Besides the cheering moments, commemorating the last 50 years of excellent Ethiopia-EU bilateral relations would provide an opportunity to draw lessons that could inform today’s decision. Looking into the next 50 years, the two parties need to ask what creative mechanism can be developed to forge a stronger partnership that is important to rise up to the challenges of our time. Both need to set out joint priorities and shared values on the basis of mutual trust and respect. In light of the highly dynamic and complex global changes, Ethiopia and the EU should further solidify their partnership in tackling common global challenges such as climate change, terrorism, and violent extremism.
A revitalized and robust engagement with fresh initiatives that encompasses investment and trade, among others, is paramount. Practical collaboration through the Global Gateway initiative and strong participation of European private companies tapping into the opportunities in the burgeoning Ethiopian economy are critical. There is no doubt that enhanced participation of the private sector should be the main defining feature that shapes the nature of the relationship over the coming years.