Ethiopian PM’s rounds of talks with citizens assure unity, peace: minister

[Deeq A.]

ADDIS ABABA, May 4 (Xinhua) — Ethiopian Prime Minister’s recent rounds of talks with various groups of the Ethiopian society have brought effective mutual understanding and unity among Ethiopians, according to the Ethiopian Minister of Government Communications Affairs Office, Ahmed Shide.

Shide, speaking about Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s first 30 days in office, said Friday that Ahmed’s discussions with Ethiopian communities have assured citizens regarding his new administration’s plan towards the country’s unity and development.

According to Shide, the premier over the past one month has listened to the preoccupations and demands of the public, which in turn created mutual understanding between the government and the public regarding what actions to be done in the near future so as to sustain peace, security and unity in the country.

Prime Minister Ahmed, who was appointed by the Ethiopian House of People’s Representatives, Ethiopian parliament’s lower house, has been touring the East African country, urging the various groups of the society for patience to bring about the desired changes.

Ahmed in his first trip outside the capital Addis Ababa went to the conflict-hit Somali regional state, followed by a meeting with residents of Ambo town in Ethiopia’s largest Oromia regional state, a town that has been a hotbed of protests for the past few years.

He had also hosted a dinner reception for the country’s opposition leaders, in which he promised to widen the democratic space as well as to work with opposition figures so as to bring better socioeconomic conditions for Ethiopia – a country that was rocked by incessant unrests and mass anti-government demonstrations since the second half of 2016.

Ahmed had also met with some 25,000 representatives of the Ethiopian community and the diplomatic community in the capital.

Source: Xinhua