The French and German foreign ministers have completed a two-day joint visit to Ethiopia. The heads of French and German diplomacy met this Friday morning January 13 with the president. Together, they called on African countries to condemn more clearly “ Russian aggression ” in Ukraine. They also pleaded for the African Union to be represented in the G20 and the United Nations Security Council.
With our special correspondent in Addis Ababa, Florence Morice
Throughout the visit the two ministers made sure to speak with one voice; carry the same messages by calling each other “my friend”. Objective: to display the strength of the Franco-German couple, but also to form a common front to defend the place of their countries and more generally of Europe in a region where the influence of China and Russia is growing.
France and Germany have made this clear. They expect more explicit support from their African partners in the face of Russia over the war in Ukraine.
” There is an aggressor and an aggressor, and it is important that everyone tells the aggressor that he must stop his aggression said French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna after her meeting with Moussa Faki Mahamat. ” We have common interests and expectations towards our African friends she clarified. Same message from his German counterpart: “ we need Africa to defend peace in Europe, said Annalena Baerbock
Visiting a warehouse of the World Food Program, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs castigated the attitude of the Russian President who, according to her, uses “ cereals as a weapon of war “.
The two ministers insisted on their desire for a strengthened partnership between the two continents and explicitly supported a long-standing demand of the AU, namely better representation within the United Nations. ” The world in 2023 is not the same as after the Second World War, and that is why we support the allocation of two permanent seats to the African continent “, specified the German Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Moussa Faki Mahamat welcomed this support. In his eyes, Africa’s absence from the United Nations Security Council is a ” injustice that must be repaired “.
Anxious to occupy the field, the two diplomats also expressed their support for the Ethiopian peace process, describing as “positive” the assessment of the Pretoria agreement, only 2 months after its signature and while its implementation is just in its infancy. France has also pledged as of now to the tune of 28 million euros to participate in the financing of the “reconstruction” of the regions affected by the conflict.
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