Ethiopian PM Meets with Outgoing IGAD Executive Secretary

ADDIS ABEBA – Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has met with the outgoing Executive Secretary of economic bloc IGAD, Ambassador Mahboub Maalim, as well as the incoming Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu, today.

The Office of Prime Minister of Ethiopia said Abiy appreciated Ambassador Maalim’s dedication and contribution to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Abiy admired the efforts that the Kenyan envoy, who handed over his position to Workneh on Thursday, made through IGAD to stabilize the region which is composed of eight nations.

The executive secretary is technically Igad’s chief executive officer and is appointed by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government for a term of four years’ that is renewable once.

The new executive secretary on Thursday met ambassadors from Igad countries including Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan.

Workneh expressed his eagerness to work for the betterment of the region.

But, pundits say Workneh, a former Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, faces the challenge of unifying the bloc’s members, bringing in Eritrea and raising funds for a bloc that has often relied on donors for most of its program.

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[Photo PM Office]