HENOK MERHATSIDK 1.pdf - Addis Ababa University

Ethiopia and, at least, Ethiopia had opened her consular office in Nairobi in 1945 (Belete,
2005:7). When Haile Sellassie was in exile, he made frequent contacts with Jomo Kenyatta.
After Ethiopia got independence the Emperor used to support the Mau Mau Movement and
help the families of Jomo Kenyatta when he was imprisoned by the British colonial
administration (Belete, 2005: 2-7).
Ethiopia and Egypt have always been in disagreement concerning the use of the Nile waters,
but these days Ethiopia is not alone. All Nile Basin countries with the exception of Egypt and
Sudan hold common position and they have signed an agreement which denounced the 1959
Egypt and Sudan agreement on the exclusive use of the Nile by them. Kenya and Ethiopia
played a central role in convincing Uganda and other up- stream states to hold similar
position.
The new emerging global powers China and India clearly understand the geo- political
significance of the region and they are extensively engaged in Ethiopia and Kenya. Ethiopia
hosted Chino-Africa Forum and the Chinese officials promised to increase investment in
Africa. They have also agreed to give large sum of money for Ethiopian Growth and
Transformation Plan (GTP).The plan aims to register significant improvement in energy
sector, infrastructure development including railways; the countries export revenue also
planned to increase by five fold. Indians are investing in agricultural sector; they have
extended their support by providing debt for the Ethiopian government for infrastructure
development. Turks, Saudi Arabians investment increased from time to time. The finding of
large volume of oil in Sudan, the military presence of US and France in Djibouti territory is a
plus for the ever increasing importance of the area (Kirubel, 2010:6).
Kenya is found in a strategic position that it uses to link the Horn of African countries to
eastern, southern and central African countries. Its possession of the coast of Indian Ocean is
also important for the landlocked countries like Ethiopia. When we look at Ethiopia, it is
center for all the Horn of African countries, it shares border with all of them, and is a water
tower of Horn of Africa (Woodward, 1996:1). In nutshell, Kenya and Ethiopia are found in
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