ADDIS ABABA: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will build a pipeline connecting Ethiopia to the Eritrean port of Assab, state media reported Friday.
The agreement was reportedly made during discussions in Addis Ababa between Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and UAE Minister of International Cooperation Reem Al-Hashimy.
The state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate did not provide details on the agreement.
Landlocked Ethiopia used an oil refinery located in Assab port for its domestic oil needs before a two-year war over the demarcation of the border broke out between the two countries in 1998, leaving some 80,000 dead before settling into a bitter cold war.
In a surprise move in June, Ethiopia's new reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced he would finally accept a 2002 United Nations-backed border demarcation, paving the way for peace between the two nations.
Reciprocal visits by the two nations' leaders led to the resumption of flights between their capitals as well as the opening of embassies and phone lines.
The UAE, which is reportedly using the Assab port to conduct military operations against Houthi rebels in Yemen, has been seen as a key mediator in the diplomatic thaw between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
UAE to build oil pipeline between Eritrea and Ethiopia
UAE to build oil pipeline between Eritrea and Ethiopia
Jordan condemns US ambassador remarks on accepting Israel’s West Bank annexation
- The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it rejects the ambassador’s “absurd and provocative statements”
CAIRO: Jordan condemned Saturday earlier remarks by US envoy to Israel Mike Huckabee, who said it would be acceptable if Israel took control of the entire Middle East, including the West Bank.
Huckabee has suggested that he would not object if Israel were to take most of the Middle East.
The Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it rejects the ambassador’s “absurd and provocative statements,” in a statement published on Petra News Agency.
Ministry spokesman Fouad Majali said the remarks “constitute a violation of diplomatic norms, an infringement on the sovereignty of the region's countries, a blatant breach of international law and the UN Charter.”
Majali also said they contradict diplomatic efforts by the United States and the declared position of US President Donald Trump in rejecting the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
The spokesperson reaffirmed that the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip are occupied Palestinian territories under international law, and that ending Israel’s occupation is a must for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on all of the occupied Palestinian territory, based on the two-state solution.
