Brussels, 21/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 21 October, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini announced that the EU and Ethiopia will present a common agenda on migration and mobility at the EU-Africa summit in Valletta, Malta on 11-12 November.
This is as a result of the first official visit that Mogherini made to Ethiopia, where she met members of the government to discuss bilateral cooperation and to participate in a high level dialogue on migration and mobility. As part of this common agenda for migration, the two parties will cooperate to address migrant and people trafficking, to support the reintegration of returning migrants, to support Ethiopia (which is hosting numerous refugees from its neighbouring countries), and to strengthen the resilience of the most vulnerable communities. In their joint statement, the EU and Ethiopia also state their resolve to enter into “a strategic partnership” and to launch a regular dialogue, at the level of foreign ministers, on new areas of common interest.
In Addis Ababa, Mogherini was also able to speak to the president of the African Union (AU) Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, and other members of the AU Commission, to prepare for the Valletta summit. “In Malta, we hope to agree on concrete action to maximise the advantages of migration for development, to address the causes of migration, to better organise the legal channels for migration and mobility, to guarantee protection to migrants and asylum applicants, to step up the fight against criminal networks involved in migrant trafficking, and to increase our cooperation on returns and readmission”, Mogherini told the participants at the donors' conference for Somali refugees on Wednesday (see other article). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)