Vol 65 No 18 | ETHIOPIA Abiy pushes radical reforms for debt deal 5th September 2024 A multi-billion-dollar financing programme and debt restructuring deal are taking shape but the political risks are high at home and in the region Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s grand plan to raise over US$10 billion from international financial institutions and the restructuring of Ethiopia’s $28bn foreign debt after defaulting on its Eurobond...
Vol 65 No 16 | ETHIOPIA Central bank floats birr to secure IMF deal 1st August 2024 Foreign exchange reform will remove market distortions, but is the economy entering a danger zone of further devaluation and greater inflation? The quid pro quo that Addis Ababa will gain from the international financial institutions and from sundry investors and creditors must have reassured Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that...
DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 16 | ETHIOPIA Abiy agrees $3.4bn IMF deal 30th July 2024 Ethiopia’s move to a market-based foreign exchange regime, a requirement of the new financing programme, saw the birr drop 30% against the dollar Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has reached an agreement with the IMF on a four-year US$3.4 billion loan – part of a $10.7bn financing programme from the Fund... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 16 | ETHIOPIASOMALIA Djibouti joins fight against the Abiy-Bihi pact 19th July 2024 Fearing big losses if Addis Ababa’s port access deal with Somaliland goes ahead, President Guelleh wants to scupper it Battle drums are sounding, but the casus belli is still being determined. Nobody yet knows whether the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and...
Vol 65 No 16 | ETHIOPIASOMALIA Shots and plots 1st August 2024 On 15 July, local militias on the outskirts of Abudwaq, in Galmudug, stopped a convoy of two trucks loaded with infantry weapons coming from Ethiopia and led by...
Vol 65 No 15 | ETHIOPIA Tigray war accord isn’t ending the fighting over Amhara border 15th July 2024 The Pretoria deal stopped large-scale combat but didn’t resolve the disputes over territory and resources The rebellions and counter-insurgency operations causing havoc in Ethiopia’s two largest regions, Amhara and Oromia, have overshadowed the aftermath of the two-year civil war centred on the dissident...
Vol 65 No 14 | ETHIOPIASOMALIAUNITED ARAB EMIRATESSOMALILAND Abiy Ahmed’s sovereignty deal with Muse Abdi risks more regional turmoil 27th June 2024 Ethiopia’s accord with Somaliland on access to the sea angers Mogadishu as the UAE pushes its side in the fight Regional concerns are mounting over the mooted quid pro quo between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Muse Bihi Abdi in which Ethiopia gets a port in the...
DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 14 | ETHIOPIASOMALIA Turkey hosts first round of talks on port row 3rd July 2024 Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan said the negotiations have been ‘candid, cordial and forward-looking’ Turkey mediated the first round of talks between Somalia and Ethiopia’s foreign ministers on Monday in the first international attempt to ease diplomatic tensions between the two Horn... READ FOR FREE
DISPATCHES Vol 65 No 13 | ETHIOPIA Abiy tries to restart liberalisation agenda 19th June 2024 A new bill paves the way for overseas banks to acquire stakes in domestic lenders, after the civil war in Tigray stymied a previous attempt Abiy Ahmed’s government appears to be attempting to breathe new life into liberalising Ethiopia’s economy. The Council of Ministers in Addis Ababa has approved a bill that would... READ FOR FREE
Vol 65 No 12 | ETHIOPIA Abiy keeps Addis on side but alienates the nation 31st May 2024 Insurgencies rage in the three largest regions but the Prime Minister has reinforced his grip on the capital Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's political shapeshifting has cost him popular support in the Amhara, Oromia and Tigray regions leaving only those in power in Addis Ababa and the...