The Government of Ethiopia and the African Development Bank Group have resolved their disagreement after Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, apologized for the assault of two international African Development Bank staff, who were assaulted by security agents of the Ethiopian government.
Reports indicate that the two international staff of
African Development Bank Group based in the Bank’s Country Office in Ethiopia, were severely assaulted by the Ethiopian security agents and the bank lodged a complaint to the government of Ethiopia over the incident.
Following the complaint, a high-level mission dispatched by the Bank visited Ethiopia in November 2023 for direct engagement and discussions with senior government officials, however the matter remained unresolved and the African Development Bank withdrew all its international staff from Ethiopia.
In trying to resolve the matter amicably, the President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, travelled to Addis Ababa and held meetings with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, from 29 to 31 December 2023.
The meetings were fruitful and brought a resolution to the matter and the bank received a formal apology from the Prime Minister on behalf of the Government of Ethiopia, with firm assurances of the security and safety of the Bank and its personnel, the respect for the rights, privileges, and diplomatic immunities of staff and the Host country agreement of the government of Ethiopia with the African Development Bank.
The Bank also received firm commitment by the government to investigate and share the formal report of the investigations into the incident with the Bank and to ensure full accountability for all involved.
Meanwhile, the African Development Bank Group has resumed its normal operations in Ethiopia and all international staff of the African Development Bank will return to Ethiopia.
