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Bi-Weekly Newsletter
Permanent Mission of the State of Eritrea to AU
and UNECAPress Section

Sudan’s President Official Visit to Eritrea

National Service: A toolfor Economic
Development, National
Cohesion and theDefence of Sovereignty

Volume 1, Issue 3
1 February 2014

The President of Sudan, H.E. Omar Hassan
Al-Beshir conducted a three-day working
visit to Eritrea from 16-18 January 2014.
During the visit, President Isaias Afwerki
and President Omar Hassan Al-Beshir held
extensive discussions on bilateral, regionaland global issues. The talks that took placein Asmara and the Port City of Massawa
elaborated the ways and means of upgrading the prevailing historic and people-based
bilateral relations between the twocountries. They also discussed on theexpansion and consolidation of the freemovement of goods and people.
The two leaders asserted that EritreanSudanese relations have entered a newphase in depth and vitality.
The two leaders expressed similar views on
how to resolve domestic and regional
problems, and agreed to jointly work inpromoting peace and development in theHorn of Africa.
Regarding the prevailing sad situation inthe Republic of South Sudan, President

Inside this issue:
MFA Press
ReleaseUS Hostility, Not 2
Eritrean Rigidity,
Responsible For
Sour Relations
Isaias and President Beshir stated that theissue not only affects negatively SouthSudan but also Eritrea and the Republic ofSudan, as well as the countries of theregion. They further reached understanding on the need to have consensus towards
achieving peaceful solution to the crisis on
the basis of coordination and collaboration
among all stakeholders.
In the course of his three days stay inEritrea, President Omar Al-Beshir visitedthe Dahlak Island, the Filfil-Solomuna
zigzag road that was built by utilizing
internal capacity and resources, and anumber of economic establishments.

Egypt’s Special Envoy Delivered Message to thePresident of Eritrea
President Isaias Afwerki
received a message fromthe Interim President ofEgypt H.E. Adly Mansour
and held extensive talks
with Ambassador Hamdi
Sanad Loza, Egypt’s Vice
Foreign Minister and Special Envoy of the Interim
President.
In the meeting that took
place in Asmara on 15
January 2014, Ambassador
Hamdi Sanad Loza briefed
President Isaias on thesteps taken by the Govern- current challenges.
ment and people of Egypt
duringthetransition
period. He further gave
detailed explanation on
the ratification process ofthe new Constitution andthe elections to be conducted in the near future.
He also underlined thePresident Isaias on his part important role Egypt plays in
expressed the Eritrean the Horn of Africa and theGovernment’s confidence Red Sea Region in the proon the capacity and capa- motion of economic integrability of the Egyptian tion and maintenance ofpeople to overcome the peace and security.

Vol 1. Issue 3, 1 February 2014

Sudan’s Ministerof Oil, Minister ofWater Resources 3and Electricity
Held Talks With
President Isaias
UN HumanRights Council
Technical Team
Visited Eritrea
Eritrea
Expanding fromGold to Copper
Production

33

Eritrean Natnael
Berhane Wins La
Tropical Amissa 3
Bongo 2014 Tourin GabonContact Addresses:
Tel: +251-116620052
Fax:+251-116620011
Email:eritreanaumission@
gmail.com
P.o.Box: 5527
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Page 2Eri-News

Press Release
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Eritrea
US Hostility, Not Eritrean Rigidity, Responsible For Sour Relations
United States Diplomat and Former
Ambassador to Nigeria and South Africa,
Princeton Lyman, recently wrote a piece
blaming Eritrea for the lack in progress inrelations with the United States. By
choosing to remain silent about the many,well-documented wrong-doings of the United States(and Ethiopia) in regard to Eritrea and the region, healso tries to absolve them of any responsibility.
The ill-thought policies of US administration officials,
that have caused tragic consequences for the region,
started during the unnecessary war between Eritrea
and Ethiopia in 1998-2000. At that time US officials,
who had been invited by both sides to facilitate apeaceful settlement, decided to take sides, convinced
as they were that saving the regime of the late
Ethiopian Prime Minister at all costs was their number
one priority.
When the war ended and the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission rendered its "final and binding"boundary ruling, the United States, ostensibly aguarantor of the Algiers Peace Agreement failed touphold the ruling and decided to countenanceEthiopia's flagrant violation. US officials went further
and attempted to change the ruling, as related byformer US Ambassador to the United Nations, John
Bolton, with a view to shoring up the Ethiopian
regime and strengthening the hand of the Prime
Minister against "hardliners in his party."
US hostility to Eritrea increased sharply in the middleof the 2000s when it decided to rely on Ethiopia,
whom it had branded an "anchor state," in its war
against terrorism in the Horn of Africa. It subsequently
instigated the Ethiopian invasion of Somalia and to"reward" Ethiopia, it intensified its effort against
Eritrea, maligning its government, which has animpeccable record in fighting extremism andterrorism, as a "spoiler." Some US officials openly
spoke of "punishing" Eritrea and called for "regimechange." A series of concrete measures, including
economic, diplomatic and media pressures, wereundertaken by Washington against Eritrea and theEritrean Diaspora in the United States.

Finally, in 2009, the US administration orchestrated the imposition ofunfair and illegal sanctions on Eritrea
in order to muzzle the country and kill
any discussions of Ethiopia's continued illegal occupation of Eritrean
territory in violation of international law and UN
Security Council resolutions. Solid evidence,
including numerous Wikileaks documents, belie
Ambassador Lyman's claim that it was Africancountries and not the United States that wasresponsible for sanctions.
Despite US hostile policies and actions, Eritrea
has regularly sought to engage the United States.
Inter-agency talks in the early 2000s flounderedwhen the US made it absolutely clear that it wasnot going to shoulder its responsibility in regards
to the Eritrea-Ethiopia boundary ruling. Anotherattempt in 2006 failed when the then US
Assistant Secretary of Africa Affairs decided thatthe international boundary ruling should bechanged and Eritrea isolated and punished. Even
after the imposition of sanctions a high-levelmeeting was held to open a new chapter, but UShostility proved a bridge too far. Subsequently, inDecember 2011, the United States went as far as
making it impossible for the President of Eritrea
to address the United Nations Security Council
on the issue of sanctions.
The conclusion is fairly obvious; it is US
hostility, not Eritrean rigidity that is the cause ofsour relations between the two countries. It isalso undeniable that US flawed policies havecontributed to the deteriorating situation in theHorn of Africa and beyond. The time has comefor a thorough review.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
29 January 2014
AsmaraVol 1. Issue 3, 1 February 2014

Page 3

Volume 1, Issue 3

Sudan’s Minister of Oil, Minister of Water Resources and Electricity Held
Talks With President Isaias
On 28 January, President Isaias
Afwerki received and held talks witha high-level Sudanese government
delegation that included Mr. Mekkawi Mohamed Awad, Minister ofOil, and Mr. Mutaz Musa, Minister ofWater Resource and Electricity.

Hassan Al-Beshir during thelatter’s visit to Eritrea from 1618 January 2014.

President Isaias assured thedelegation the readiness of theEritrean government to implement the cooperation agreements
In the course of the meeting, the two between the two sisterly counsides discussed ways and means of tries.
fostering cooperation in the domainof energy in line with the agreement A Joint Technical Committee isand understanding reached between established to follow up thePresident Isaias and President Omar matter.

UN Human Rights Council Technical Team Visited
Eritrea
A technical team from the United
Nation’s Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights visited
Eritrea from 21-25 January 2014.
During their stay, the team held
meetings with several government
officials, diplomats, UN Country
Team in Asmara, as well as a steering committee that consists of representatives from various government Ministries and Civil Society
Organizations.

Eritrea has been actively engaged
with the UN Human Rights Council including under the Universal
Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism with the aim of exploringareas of cooperation on humanrights issues.
Eritrea’s second national reportunder UPR is being examined by
the Human Rights Council in thesession that is taking place in
Geneva, from 27 January-7 February 2014.

Eritrea Expanding from Goldto Copper Production
One of Eritrea’s partners in the mining
sector, the Canadian Nevsun Resourcesin its 2014 outlook announced that it was
looking forward to its first full year ofcopper production at its flagship Bisha
mine located in Western Eritrea.
Bisha Mining Share Company (BMSC)
will also advance its Zinc expansion
project through the year.
60% of BMSC is owned by Nevsun,
while 40% is owned by the Eritrean National Mining Corporation (ENAMCO).

Eritrean Natnael Berhane Wins La Tropical Amissa Bongo 2014 Tour in Gabon
Natnael Berhane, an Eritrean professional
cyclist who currently rides for Europcar
team, won the 9th edition of the La TropicalAmissa Bongo Tour held in Gabon, from13-19 January 2014.
Natnael is the first ever African to win thisprestigious race. La Tropical attracts
cyclists from 45 countries, many of whomaccustomed to the Tour de France. Since its
first launch in 2006 the race was consecutively won by Europeans.
The Tour is held annually in memory ofthe late sister of the President of Gabon.

Vol 1. Issue 3, 1 February 2014