After Djibouti, where he went to meet the French military and where he was received on Saturday morning, December 21, by President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, French President Emmanuel Macron went to Ethiopia for a meeting with Abiy Ahmed. Following an interview with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Emmanuel Macron called on the belligerents in Sudan to “ lay down your arms ” after a year and a half of a war which ravaged the country, believing that the only possible path is that ” ceasefire, negotiation “.
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With our special correspondent in Addis Ababa, Pierre Firtion
All along the route which connects the airport to the center of the Ethiopian capital, the face ofEmmanuel Macron and the French flag are displayed on countless advertising billboards. First gesture of the French president on his arrival, the laying of a wreath at the monument of the Battle of Adoua, historic battle which marks the resounding victory of theEthiopia against Italy in 1896.
At the end of the ceremonial race, the French head of state allowed himself a mini crowd bath. A few dozen people, often young, equipped with their smartphones, then immortalized the event. The French head of state then headed to the National Palace, a building built in 1955 to celebrate the silver jubilee of the reign of Emperor Haile Selassie.
The renovation work and transformation of this building into a museum was financed by AFD, the French Development Agency. After visiting the museum, Emmanuel Macron spoke with Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian Prime Minister. An interview followed by a dinner this evening, there is no shortage of topics for discussion between the two men, from the bilateral dimension to the agreement ending tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia, including the internal situation in Ethiopia .
Emmanuel Macron calls for “a ceasefire” in Sudan
The French president discussed the situation in Sudan with the Ethiopian Prime Minister. Recalling that France organized a international conference in Paris in April Emmanuel Macron launched an appeal to the warring parties in Sudan to lay down their arms.
We call on stakeholders to lay down their arms and on all regional actors who can play a role, to do so in a positive way, in the interest of the population who have suffered too much. The only process that can exist in Sudan is that of a ceasefire, of negotiation and of restoring its place to civil society which was so admirable in the revolution that it was able to lead.
Emmanuel Macron calls for “laying down arms” and a “ceasefire” in Sudan
The French President’s joint press conference with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in listen here in full.
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