Wednesday May 11, 2022
Ethiopia’s National Dialogue is of vital importance for the
Horn of Africa region, scholars from Somalia and Eritrea said.
Speaking to ENA, Chairperson of Somalia’s Institute for
Federalism and Security Analyst, Sonkor
Geyre, said Ethiopia’s National Dialogue will play a vital role in the peace
and security of the Horn of Africa as Addis Ababa is the most important player
in the region.
” We are all observing and following how the national
dialogue will go through,” he said, adding that “without Ethiopia being at
peace with itself, we cannot have a common vision in the Horn of Africa.”
Since Ethiopia is the leader of the region, the outcome that
Addis Ababa will implement out of the recommendations of the National Dialogue
will draw the line that the region will follow for the next 100 years, the
analyst pointed out.
According to him, the national dialogue in Ethiopia is in a
way a common vision for the Horn of Africa.
Geyre believes that the national dialogue will guarantee a
new vision not only for Ethiopia but for the Horn of Africa region.
” We in Somalia feel that we are part of the national
dialogue,” he said, stressing that “no east African country can be distantly
detached from Ethiopia’s political reality.”
A researcher at the Eritrean Center For Strategic Studies
and analyst, Fikreyesus Amhazion said what goes on in Ethiopia impacts us all
as Ethiopia is a large important historical state.
Because Ethiopia is one of the most important countries not
only in the Horn of Africa but all of Africa, the way Ethiopia goes is the way
perhaps this region goes too, the Eritrean researcher added.
“No issue in the Horn of Africa within any individual
country is restricted in that country. All issues have a spillover effect.
Anything that occurs in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia impacts their
neighbor,” the analyst noted.
As a neighbor of Ethiopia, Eritrea wants nothing but peace
for its neighbor because what is good for Ethiopia is ultimately good for
Eritrea, Fikreyesus said.
“We just hope that the national dialogue brings about the
true aspirations and wishes of the people of Ethiopia. We wish all the
stakeholders and all groups being represented have their views and perspectives
listened to.”
The analyst and researcher expressed his hope that the
dialogue would be positive and progressive.