UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has opened up new opportunities for the region to enjoy security and stability. Ahmed has received wide praise for his efforts to seek peaceful solutions in Sudan and Eritrea. His country is one of Africa’s star economic performers having grown at around ten percent per annum for the last decade.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea. The prize is also meant to recognise all the stakeholders working for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and in the East and Northeast African regions.
Though Africa’s youngest leader still faces big challenges, he has in under two years in power begun political and economic reforms that promise a better life for many in impoverished Ethiopia and restored ties with Eritrea that had been frozen since a 1998-2000 border war.
“I am so humble and thrilled … It is a prize given to Africa, given to Ethiopia,” Abiy Ahmed said in a recorded phone call with the secretary of the award committee that was posted online.
Source: sabc
