Your account has been succesfully created.

Subscribe now

Spotlight

ETHIOPIA

Abiy and Sisi spar over GERD in Washington through opposing lobbyists

Read this article in our running story

“The Renaissance Dam – a national symbol but a regional quandary”

ETHIOPIA

The Renaissance Dam – a national symbol but a regional quandary

Although the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) is due to come into service in 2021, no agreement has yet been found by Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan regarding their respective rights to the waters of the River Nile. For nearly a decade, the great Ethiopian dam has been a source of tension between the three countries. Ethiopia sees the €4bn project, which has been entirely financed by Ethiopian taxpayers but has not yet been completed, as a means of making itself self-sufficient in energy and affirming its power in the region. [...]

Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed with President of Egypt Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. © STR/EFE/Newscom/MaxPPP

Addis Ababa has followed in Cairo's footsteps and hired a US lobbying heavyweight. Worried his Egyptian rival will take the lead in the Grand Renaissance dam debate and concerned about his declining reputation over the Tigray conflict, the Ethiopian prime minister is working institutions, diplomats, and the media. [...] (661 words)

Issue dated 24/02/2021 Reading time 3 minutes

This article may be accessed by subscribers and e-wallet holders (USD 19.50)

2 options offered to continue reading

e-wallet

from EUR/USD 50

Only buy articles you are interested in

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION

Unlimited access to the website

See our rates

Choose the option that suits you best: Compare all of our offers!

Do you want a free trial before subscribing?

Create your free account

Do you want a free trial before subscribing?

create a free account

Energy Diplomacy

Set up email notifications for these topics

ETHIOPIA
Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi
Abiy Ahmed Ali
African Union
Angela Merkel
Antony Blinken
Barnes & Thornburg
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Craig Burkhardt
Donald Trump
Ed Royce
Emmanuel Macron
Fitsum Arega Gebrekidan
Joe Biden
Loren Aho
Motaz Zabran
Nadeam Elshami
Nancy Pelosi
Thomas H. Quinn
Venable

Reverend Zaki discreetly lobbies Washington on Sisi's behalf

The Egyptian leader is harnessing the issue of religious freedom to improve his image with the US administration. The head of Egypt's Protestant churches, Andrea Zaki Stephanous, is acting as Sisi's emissary in Washington. [...]

Head of the Protestant church of Egypt, Andrea Zaki Stephanous

ETHIOPIA Diplomacy 22/04/2022

Addis Ababa hires fifth lobbyist as new US sanctions loom

After Barnes & Thornburg, Holland & Knight, Mercury Public Affairs and Actum International, the Ethiopian government has secured the services of a fifth lobbying firm in Washington in just two years. [...]

ETHIOPIA UNITED STATES Diplomacy 23/09/2021

Pro-Abiy diaspora mobilises clerics to lobby Congress

While the White House was publishing an executive order paving the way for sanctions against Ethiopia's warning parties, 11 US-based Ethiopian Orthodox archbishops arrived in Washington to champion the cause of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. [...]

Spotlight

EGYPT ETHIOPIA SUDAN Energy Diplomacy 08/07/2021

Sissi struggles to rally Kenyatta on GERD

A UN Security Council meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is being held in New York this Thursday, at Tunisia's request. Egypt is pushing hard for the adoption of a resolution on the issue, despite a lack of consensus between the council's African members. [...]

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was received on 27 May 2021 in Djibouti by his counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh. © Ismaïl Omar Guelleh/Facebook

Spotlight

DJIBOUTI EGYPT ETHIOPIA Diplomacy 17/06/2021

Sisi tries containment tactics against Abiy's Renaissance dam

In his race to stop Ethiopia from filling its huge Renaissance dam, the Egyptian president is rallying the Nile Basin countries to his cause one by one. [...]

ETHIOPIA Diplomacy 14/06/2021

Abiy takes on Western critics

New US sanctions on some of its politicians signals the growing international pressure on Ethiopia. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has dispatched ministers to Europe and is preparing to send a delegation to Washington to smooth things over with the Western powers. [...]

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.

ETHIOPIA Infrastructure Business 15/04/2021

Abiy's $70 billion transport plan

The Ethiopian government's ten-year transport plan, which will cost an estimated $70bn, comprises some forty projects focused around six major axes. [...]

ETHIOPIA UNITED STATES Diplomacy 09/04/2021

Pro-Abiy diaspora mobilises in Washington

L'American-Ethiopia Public Affairs Committee est venu s'ajouter à la liste déjà longue des associations et groupements d'intérêts éthiopiens basés aux Etats-Unis. [...]

EGYPT Defence Diplomacy 25/03/2021

Sisi pulls out the big guns to hang on to US military aid

To stay in good graces with its longtime American defence partner, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has added a former Podesta lobbyist to his team. [...]

ETHIOPIA Business 16/03/2021

Abiy tries to attract international aid by opening up telecommunications

Ethiopia's eagerly awaited privatisation of its telecommunications sector is not just the keystone of its digital development strategy. It is also intended to open the way to numerous digital development projects for which international lending institutions are showing real appetite. [...]

ETHIOPIA Diplomacy 08/03/2021

New US ambassador Geeta Pasi arrives amid diplomatic froideur

The American diplomat, already familiar with the Horn of Africa, takes office as tension mounts between Washington and Addis Ababa. [...]

Geeta Pasi, the new US ambassador to Ethiopia.

AFRICA UNITED STATES Diplomacy 02/03/2021

Biden gets to work on Africa, makes first appointments

The new US head of state and his vice president, Kamala Harris, have begun holding talks with several African heads of state. The newly appointed Africa director in the National Security Council was sitting on the call. [...]

In Focus

ETHIOPIA Defence Politics 22/02/2021

Abiy purged his military high command to prepare for his war against the TPLF

As soon as he arrived in power in 2018, the Ethiopian prime minister announced that he planned to reform the Ethiopian army high command, which he saw as a Tigrayan leadership stronghold. The reform, which was carried out quietly over two years, enabled Abiy to remove officers too closely linked to the Tigray People's Liberation Front. [...]

ERITREA ETHIOPIA Diplomacy 10/11/2020

The triggers of Tigray's crisis

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has for weeks been working on reconciliation with Eritrea in an effort to break the Cairo-Asmara-Abu Dhabi axis. It was fear of having to pay the price for this rapprochement that leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front - who have repeatedly clashed with Eritrea - rebelled against the Ethiopian federal army last week. [...]

ETHIOPIA Politics 21/07/2020

GERD: Craig Burkhardt picked to get Abiy back in Trump's good books Free

With negotiations with Egypt on the Ethiopian mega-dam GERD at a gridlock, Abiy Ahmed Ali is hoping to win over Cairo's ally, Donald Trump. [...]

The Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.

Set up email notifications for these topics

ETHIOPIA
Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi
Abiy Ahmed Ali
African Union
Angela Merkel
Antony Blinken
Barnes & Thornburg
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Craig Burkhardt
Donald Trump
Ed Royce
Emmanuel Macron
Fitsum Arega Gebrekidan
Joe Biden
Loren Aho
Motaz Zabran
Nadeam Elshami
Nancy Pelosi
Thomas H. Quinn
Venable

Once registered, you will be notified by a short message on your computer or mobile phone as soon as a new edition of our publication or an alert is published. Stay informed anytime, anywhere!

From Texas to South Kivu's highlands, Mahoro Peace Association's complex channels finance militia

Energy lobbyist NJ Ayuk smooths relations between Pretoria and Riyadh

Abiy and Sisi spar over GERD in Washington through opposing lobbyists