Ethiopia Wants Second Russia-Africa Summit To Be Held In Addis Ababa - Diplomat

Ethiopia Wants Second Russia-Africa Summit to Be Held in Addis Ababa - Diplomat

Ethiopia insists that the second Russia-Africa Summit should be held in its capital of Addis Ababa, since this is the most suitable venue, the African country's ambassador to Russia, Alemayehu Tegenu, said in an interview with Sputnik

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th July, 2021) Ethiopia insists that the second Russia-Africa Summit should be held in its capital of Addis Ababa, since this is the most suitable venue, the African country's ambassador to Russia, Alemayehu Tegenu, said in an interview with Sputnik.

"In October 2019, our Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali participated in the Sochi summit and proposed to conduct this second Africa-Russia Summit in Addis Ababa, he invited delegations members to come in 2022 to participate in this summit in Addis Ababa. So, we insist that this summit has to be held in Addis Ababa," Tegenu said.

"We have a lot of experience to host such kinds of conferences and forums. Addis Ababa is the capital city of Africa, the headquarter of the AU [African Union] is in Addis Ababa. So, there is no reason to conduct this forum [anywhere] rather than Addis Ababa," Tegenu added.

Ethiopia has already discussed this with Russian authorities and is waiting for a response, the diplomat specified.

"Another important thing here, Ethiopian Airlines are connecting all Africans together. [There are flights to Moscow] four times a week. So, when I say we have good facilities, it includes the flights," Tegenu concluded.

The first Russia-Africa Summit was held in the Russian resort city of Sochi in October 2019. The event, co-chaired by the presidents of Russia and Egypt, drew over 6,000 representatives of 104 countries, including the leaders of over 40 African nations.