Ethiopia’s New Ambassador to Brazil Assumes Office
ADDIS ABABA – Tafa Tulu has officially taken office as Ambassador of Ethiopia to Brazil on Monday, according to the ministry of foreign affairs.
Ambassador Tafa presented his letters of credentials to the Vice-President of Brazil, Hamilton Mourão, in a ceremony held at the Planalto Palace. He also conveyed greetings and best wishes of Ethiopian President Sahle-work Zewde.
Speaking at the ceremony, he first expressed his heartfelt condolences for the lives lost in Brazil’s North-Eastern Region, which experienced heavy rain-induced deadly floods and landslides over the weekend.
The Ethiopian envoy also recalled the long-standing and historical relationship between the two countries, underscoring the need to further scale it up with renewed engagements.
He also took the opportunity to brief the Vice-President about the measures taken by the Government of Ethiopia to ensure enduring peace in the country.
The Ambassador also expressed his country’s strong desire to resume the trilateral negotiations with Sudan and Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
The Ethiopian government is committed to resume the dam negotiation with the two countries to find an amicable solution for outstanding issues over the GERD, he said.
Brazil’s Vice-President Mourã, on his part, expressed gratitude for the goodwill wishes of the Ethiopian President and the people of Ethiopia.
He has also reaffirmed Brazil’s determination to scale up bilateral relations with Ethiopia and pledged to extend all necessary support to the new Ethiopian ambassador.
Brazil and Ethiopia established diplomatic relations in 1951. The Embassy of Brazil in Addis Ababa was opened in 1961, but was deactivated a decade later. The Embassy in Addis Ababa was reopened in 2005. Ethiopia, in its turn, reopened its resident embassy in Brazil 2011.
