Ethiopia

Economics

The National Bank of Ethiopia announced that the country had reached a $1.5 billion debt relief agreement with creditors, an interim measure as it seeks a broader financing package, The Africa Report reported on Nov. 30.

Ethiopia: Government Reaches $1.5 Billion Debt Relief Agreement

Military & Security

Politics

The most recent round of peace talks between the Ethiopian government and the rebel Oromo Liberation Army ended on Nov. 21 without an agreement, Al Jazeera reported the next day.

Ethiopia: Second Round of Peace Talks on Oromia Fail to Produce an Agreement

Ethiopia's government said a referendum will decide the future of western Tigray, though it did not say when the referendum will be held, AP reported on Nov. 6.

Ethiopia: Government Says It Will Hold Referendum on Disputed Western Tigray Region

Energy

Environment, Science & Technology

Science & Technology

The Ethiopian government announced that it had completed the fourth and final filling of the reservoir of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Reuters reported on Sept. 10. 

Ethiopia: Government Says Fourth and Final GERD Reservoir Filling Complete

Ethiopian wheat output will increase by 27% this season, according to Agriculture Minister Girma Amente, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 8.

Ethiopia: Government Expects Surplus Wheat Following Agricultural Initiative

Sudan

Egypt

Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan concluded two days of negotiations on the filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam without significant progress, Addis Standard reported on Aug. 29.

Ethiopia: Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Negotiations Conclude With No Progress

South Africa

Argentina

Brazil

Iran

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates

China

Russia

India

Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates will join the BRICS trade bloc on Jan. 1, 2024, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 24.

Global: BRICS' Growth Will Attract Funds, Division

Government officials from Ethiopia's Amhara region asked the federal government to intervene in response to clashes between Fano, a local militia, and the military, after which the federal government declared a state of emergency, Addis Standard reported on Aug. 4.

Ethiopia: Government Declares State of Emergency Over Clashes in Amhara

Snapshots

A view of the city of Bahir Dar, the capital of the Amhara region in northern Ethiopia, on June 19, 2021.

Renewed conflict between Amhara special forces and the Ethiopian military is endangering the country's fragile peace and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's mandate.

Unrest in Amhara Threatens to Destabilize Northern Ethiopia's Tenuous Peace

Eritrea

Ethiopian military forces transport a Saeer KS-19 automatic 100 mm anti-aircraft gun Dec. 5, 2021, in Shewa Robit, Ethiopia.

A successful peace deal would facilitate humanitarian aid flows, increase regional access to services and spur the eventual return of foreign investment.

Tigrayan Rebels Begin Surrendering Their Heavy Weapons, a Hopeful Sign for Ethiopia

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Sub-Saharan Africa

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Burundi

Central African Republic

Cote d'Ivoire

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Kenya

Mali

Mozambique

Nigeria

Tanzania

Zimbabwe

Women sit under U.N.-branded cardboard boxes in Semera, Ethiopia, on Feb. 14, 2022, as they wait to be registered by the authorities at a hotel compound hosting civilians fleeing violence. 

Social Issues

GBV is often primarily seen as a women’s and human rights issue. But in sub-Saharan Africa, it is also a key constraint to stable (and democratic) governance, economic growth, and lasting peace.

The Geopolitics of Gender-Based Violence in Africa

Turkey

Hong Kong SAR, China

Taiwan

Germany

France

Ukraine

Belarus

In this scorecard, we take a critical look at our successes and slip-ups in forecasting geopolitical events over the past year.

Grading Our 2022 Annual Forecast as 2023 Approaches

Assessments

Egyptian pounds on Aug. 25, 2022.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: An Egypt-IMF Meeting, South Africa Votes on an Impeachment Inquiry

Redwan Hussein (second from the left), a representative of the Ethiopian government, and Getachew Reda (second from the right), a representative of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), sign a peace agreement in Pretoria, South Africa, on Nov. 2, 2022.

The government has inked a preliminary deal with Tigrayan rebels to end their two-year war. But historical grievances, implementation challenges, mistrust and third-party spoilers will risk returning the country to violence.

 In Ethiopia, Will a 'Permanent' Cessation of Hostilities Actually Install Lasting Peace?

United Kingdom

Liz Truss resigns as British prime minister on Oct. 20, 2022, in London.

The Weekly Rundown: A New British Prime Minister, China's Party Congress Ends

A truck, carrying grains to Tigray and belonging to the World Food Programme (WFP), burns out on a route 80 kilometers from Semera in northeastern Ethiopia, on June 10, 2022. 

Clashes between the government and TPLF rebels will likely persist through at least the end of the year, further complicating efforts to resolve the conflict and mitigate the country's growing humanitarian crisis.

What's Next for Ethiopia's Civil War Amid Renewed Fighting in Tigray?

A general view shows the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in Guba, Ethiopia, on Feb. 19, 2022. 

The unilateral filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) risks setting a dangerous precedent for how the region's increasingly scarce water supplies will be governed.


The Long-Term Water Politics of Ethiopia's Nile River Mega-Dam

Media

Podcasts

Violence in Ethiopia flares amid the country's ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Essential Geopolitics: Fighting Between Ethiopia's Government and Tigray Rebels Resumes

Angola

Republic of the Congo

Zambia

Newly elected Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema delivers a speech during his inauguration at the Heroes Stadium in Lusaka on Aug. 24, 2021. 

Beijing's first foray into debt restructuring under the G-20 framework will offer insight into China's potential position in other African countries' creditor talks.

What Zambian Debt Talks Could Mean for Chinese Borrowers in Africa

Colombia

United States

Bogota, Colombia, on June 14, 2022. Colombia will hold the second round of its presidential elections June 19, with anti-establishment candidate Rodolfo Hernandez and left-wing opposition figure Gustavo Petro competing for the presidency.

The Weekly Rundown: Biden Courts Refiners, Colombia Holds Its Presidential Runoff

Ethiopia is an ancient African country bordered by Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, South Sudan and Sudan. Ethiopia's relatively large population of 100 million people has helped the country establish itself as a regional heavyweight in East Africa. Its extensive mountain system, which surrounds the fertile lowland core of the country, is key to understanding Ethiopia's diverse ethnic composition and how it relates to its neighbors. Invasion is not a major concern for Ethiopia, as the northern Ethiopian Plateau and the Ahmar Mountains almost completely surround the lowlands. In the northeast, the Awash River Basin opens to the coastline, but even this area gains a certain measure of protection from its extreme desert conditions. The country's capital, Addis Ababa, sits at an elevated position overseeing the lowlands, where the majority Oromo and Amharic peoples merge with several less populous mountain cultures. Ethiopia's greatest challenge is uniting these disparate groups. Financially, Ethiopia's export and import costs are high because neighbors Djibouti and Eritrea block its sea access. North of the lowland core, the Ethiopian Plateau serves as the country's breadbasket, growing wheat, barley, corn and the staple crop teff. These highlands form an extensive drainage system that creates the most fertile land in the region. Within this region lies Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile River, which is the largest tributary of the greater Nile River. Much of Ethiopia's coffee is grown at the fertile apex of the Ahmar Mountains, which are south of the lowlands. Those mountains descend into the arid Ogaden desert, which was acquired in the 19th century and remains disconnected from the core. While it provides Ethiopia with strategic depth to protect it from the issues of its unstable neighbor Somalia, the desert is also home to separatist and Somali militants, which pose a threat to the Ethiopian state.

SITUATION REPORTS

Ethiopia: Government Reaches $1.5 Billion Debt Relief Agreement

Ethiopia: Second Round of Peace Talks on Oromia Fail to Produce an Agreement

Ethiopia: Government Says It Will Hold Referendum on Disputed Western Tigray Region

Ethiopia: Government Says Fourth and Final GERD Reservoir Filling Complete

Ethiopia: Government Expects Surplus Wheat Following Agricultural Initiative

Ethiopia: Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam Negotiations Conclude With No Progress

Global: BRICS' Growth Will Attract Funds, Division

Ethiopia: Government Declares State of Emergency Over Clashes in Amhara

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