Ethiopian Informer
ADDIS ABABA: October 12 (EI) – African leaders and heads of various pan-African organizations have welcomed the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali’s winning of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize as a continental achievement that would further boost peace in Africa.
The decision by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to award this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea” has been highly welcomed by African leaders as they emphasized the award’s potential to further promote peace and reconciliation across the African continent.
Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, who congratulated Ahmed for winning the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, also commended award as “a global recognition to Silence the Guns through African solutions to African problems.”
Chairperson of the 55-member pan African bloc further “applauds this important global recognition of African leadership to Silence the Guns through African solutions to African problems as demonstrated by Prime Minister Abiy, to promote stability and sustainable development in his country, in the Region and on the Continent as a whole,” an AU statement issued late Friday read.
“The prize is also meant to recognize all the stakeholders working for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and in the East and Northeast African regions,” according to a press statement issued by the committee.
Recent positive developments in the Ethiopia-Eritrea relations, which led Ahmed to win the prestigious award, are considered as a new beginning since the two countries bloody two-year border war from 1998-2000, which left an estimated 70,000 people dead from both sides.
As tows deepen, Ethiopia’s Ahmed and the Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki had also in September last year inked a peace deal in Saudi Arabia, reiterating their joint resolve to sustain the normalization of ties.
Eritrea was once part of the Ethiopian federation before the Red Sea nation’s independence in 1993.
Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Mahboub Maalim, also described the Ethiopian Prime Minister of Abiy Ahmed Ali’s winning of the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize as “well-deserved, and a source of great pride for Africa.”
“It was particularly a proud moment for the IGAD region given Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s role as Chairman of IAGD,” an IGAD statement quoted Maalim as saying on Friday.
Maalim further applauded the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s recognition of Ahmed’s “decisive leadership in initiating a momentous national reform process in Ethiopia as well as his distinguished leadership in promoting peace and regional cooperation in the IGAD region.”
He also recalled “the great significance of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s decisive initiative in normalizing relations with Eritrea following a long stalemate, as well as his leadership in supporting the political transition in the Republic of Sudan.”
“The award will no doubt give impetus to efforts for peace, development and solidarity in Ethiopia and in the region at large,” the IGAD Executive Secretary stressed.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, who congratulated Ahmed for winning the Nobel Peace Prize, also stressed Africa’s common aspiration towards peaceful coexistence.
“Constructive efforts to end all conflicts and differences in the African continent will continue with the will of its great peoples,” al-Sisi wrote on his official Facebook account.
Ahmed also dedicated his 2019 Nobel Peace Prize award to Ethiopia in particular and the African continent in general, as he urged concerted efforts towards building peace.
Reacting to his the award, Ahmed also expressed his gratitude for wining this year’s Nobel Peace Prize award, saying that “I am humbled by the decision of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.”
“My deepest gratitude to all committed and working for peace,” the Ethiopian PM said in twitter post, as he emphasized the need to build momentum in embracing values of peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia, in particular, and the African continent, in general.
“This award is for Ethiopia and the African continent,” Ahmed said, adding that “We shall prosper in peace!”
