US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is on his first visit to Ethiopia since the war in Tigray. He urged the longstanding ally to "deepen the peace" in the north and repair relations shaken by the brutal two-year conflict.
It is the highest-ranking US visit to the country since war broke out in late 2020 between Ethiopia's government and Tigrayan rebels, fraying the US relationship with Addis Ababa as Washington alleged crimes against humanity.
The conflict claimed some 500,000 lives according to US estimates and led Washington to sever trade preferences with Africa's second most populous nation.
Blinken said he hoped to restore cooperation "with the goal of strengthening the relationship" with Ethiopia, amid a push by President Joe Biden to deepen relations with Africa where China and Russia have been stepping up influence.
"It is a very important moment, a moment of hope given the peace in the north that has taken hold," he said.
"There is a lot to be done. Probably the most important thing is to deepen the peace that has taken hold in the north."
Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen, receiving Blinken, said: "We have longstanding relations and it is time to revitalise them and move forward."
Revitalise relations
Following the meeting with Demeke, Blinken arrived at the Prime Minister's Office for talks with Abiy, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was once seen as at the vanguard of a new generation of forward-looking African leaders, but whose reputation later took a beating in Washington over the war.
The violence erupted when the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which once dominated Ethiopian politics, attacked military installations, prompting a major offensive by Abiy's government with backing from neighbouring Eritrea.
The TPLF briefly came close to marching on the capital but, beaten back by pro-Abiy forces, agreed to disarm under a 2 November accord negotiated in South Africa by the African Union with US participation.
Molly Phee, the top US diplomat for Africa, told reporters before Blinken's departure that his visit would aim to "help consolidate" the peace in the north but that the relationship was not ready to go "back to normal".
She said that Ethiopia needed to take steps "to help break the cycle of ethnic political violence" if it wants to put the US relationship back on a "forward trajectory".
"The conflict that Ethiopia just endured was earth-shattering. It involved terrible atrocities by all parties and was extremely disruptive to the country's stability and to its economy, which is also facing historic drought conditions."
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Russia and China making inroads
A key wish of Ethiopia -- home of the African Union -- is a return to the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which gave it duty-free access for most products to the world's largest economy, but the United States has made no commitments.
Abiy has pledged to restore basic services in war-wracked Tigray, though it is impossible to assess the situation on the ground due to restrictions on media access.
The Tigray war has been one of the deadliest in the 21st century with a US-estimated toll higher than that from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has drawn far more global attention.
Moscow has since gone on a diplomatic offensive in Africa, including in Ethiopia, hoping the continent will stay neutral rather than join Western sanctions against it.
Russia's efforts follow years of inroads in Africa by China, which has also offered the continent's leaders relationships that are unencumbered by Western pressure on human rights.
Soon after Blinken's visit, his third to sub-Saharan Africa, US Vice President Kamala Harris will travel to Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia, three countries seen as committed to making progress on democracy.
(with AFP)
