How to make a holiday in Ethiopia
Posted November 03, 2020 08:53:04 The United States and Ethiopia have been locked in a dispute over who should be allowed to visit each other’s countries, after US President Donald Trump threatened to cut off aid to Ethiopia.
A meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Ethiopian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi took place on Friday, with the two countries discussing the two sides’ future cooperation on climate change.
It’s understood that the Trump administration will cut off US aid to the country, which has been struggling to meet its climate change targets and has been targeted by both the US and China.
Sisi and Pompeo have been at odds since Trump took office, and their relationship has grown increasingly tense.
The two countries have fought two wars in recent years, the first of which was against the US-backed Ethiopian military.
In a statement, the US embassy in Ethiopia said that it “strongly supports the Government of Ethiopia’s efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions”.
“The US Embassy is committed to assisting Ethiopia and other African countries achieve the Paris Agreement,” the statement read.
“We also encourage the Government to increase the use of solar energy and make its electricity more affordable and secure.”US Secretary of Defense James Mattis also visited Ethiopia on Friday and announced an $8.5 million (£5.4 million) military aid package for the country.
In September, Pompeo threatened to halt all aid to Eritrea, after the US cut off billions of dollars in aid to that country, saying it had become a source of instability in the Horn of Africa nation.
President Trump has been a vocal critic of Eritrea and its leader, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamad, and his administration has been accused of supporting terrorism and human rights abuses in the country by US allies.
Eritrea has said that Trump has “no intention” of ending the US aid cutoff, which is due to expire in 2021.