Eritrea: 20th Bi-Weekly Newsletter Released

Fifth Annual Mining Conference in Asmara

The Press Section of the Permanent Mission of the State of Eritrea to the AU and UNECA has released its twentieth bi-weekly newsletter.

Click here to read the previous newsletter.

President Isaias Received the Credentials of 25 Ambassadors

On the 9th and 10th of October 2014, President Isaias Afwerki received the credentials of 25 Ambassadors. The Ambassadors who handed-over their credentials are:-

1. H.E. Mr. Abdelkader Hijazi of Algeria,
2. H.E. Mrs. Roxane de Bilderling of Belgium,
3. H.E. Mr. Dominique Rossetti of Canada,
4. H.E. Mr. Christian Manahl of EU,
5. H.E. Dr. Andreas Zimmer of Germany,
6. H.E. Mr. Yogeshwar Varma of India,
7. H.E. Dr. Burhanuddin Badruzzaman of Indonesia,
8. H.E. Mr. Shabib Jovaijari of Iran,
9. H.E. Mr. Stefano Pontesilli of Italy,
10. H.E. Mr. Tatsushi Tereda of Japan,
11. H.E. Mr. Pak Chun II of D.P.R.Korea,
12. H.E. Mr. Pak Won-sup of R.o.Korea,
13. H.E. Mr. Mohammed R.H. Dukali of Libya,
14. H.E. Mr. Fabio Massimo Cantarelli of Malta,
15. H.E. Mr. Morten Von Hanno Aasland of Norway,
16. H.E. Mr. Rafiuzzaman Siddiqui of Pakistan,
17. H.E. Mr. Michal Murkocinski of Poland,
18. H.E. Mr. Mamadou Mamadou Sall of Senegal,
19. H.E. Mr. Ivan Zivikovik of Serbia,
20. H.E. Mr. Juan Gonzalez Barba of Spain,
21. H.E. Mr. Paul Malok of South Sudan,
22. H.E. Mr. Martin Strub of Switzerland,
23. H.E. Dr. Batilda Salha Buriani of Tanzania,
24. H.E. Mr. David Ward of UK, and
25. H.E. Archbishop Hubertus Matheus Maria of the Vatican.

During the ceremony held at Denden Hall in Asmara, President Isaias briefed the Ambassadors on Eritrea’s achievements in the development and diplomatic arenas, discussed on further developing the existing partnerships with the respective countries, and wished them successful tours of duty.

The Ambassadors on their part, expressed the readiness of their respective nations to develop mutual co-operation with Eritrea on the basis of partnership, including in trade and investment domains, as well as in political and diplomatic activities.

Eritrea Participated in the AU Regional Conference on Human Trafficking and Smuggling in the Horn of Africa

A high-level Eritrean Delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Osman Saleh, participated in the African Union Regional Conference on Human Trafficking and Smuggling in the Horn of Africa which took place in Khartoum, Sudan from 13-16th October 2014.

The Conference was attended by representatives of the core countries of the initiative - i.e. Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan - as well as several neighboring and partner countries and organizations.

At the Experts meeting that took place from 13-15 October, Ambassador Araya Desta, Permanent Representative of Eritrea to the AU and UNECA, made a presentation that highlighted the pull and push factors that cause and exacerbate human trafficking and smuggling and their consequences in the region.

Eritrea’s presentation also exposed the politicized preferential asylum policies of certain countries towards Eritreans which subjects the youth to the dangers of human trafficking and smuggling as well as attracts many non-Eritreans to pretend to be Eritreans to expedite their asylum claims. The Presentation explained in detail the efforts made by the Eritrean Government to combat and prevent human trafficking and smuggling at national, regional and international levels.

Minister Osman Saleh, in his remarks to the Ministerial segment that was convened on the 16th of October, put forward a number of recommendations to resolve the problem and reaffirmed Eritrea’s commitment to combat the scourge.

REMARKS BY H.E. MR. OSMAN SALEH

MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE STATE OF ERITREA

AT THE AFRICAN UNION REGIONAL CONFERENCE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND

SMUGGLING IN THE HORN OF AFRICA, 16 OCTOBER 2014 

Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,

Eritrea wholeheartedly welcomes the convening of this meeting keenly aware that this is but the latest in a long series of forums organized to address the critical issue of migration and the crime of human trafficking, which is affecting millions of people and nations throughout the world. Previous gatherings have patently failed to stem the tide of illegal migration or constrain the human traffickers. If this meeting and the related next November gathering in Rome are to make a tangible contribution towards solving this complex problem, they cannot be mere public relations exercises. We should not be meeting for PR purposes, to seem to be doing something, but to actually do something, to make a difference for our peoples and nations, to bring results within a fixed period of time.

This requires that we go beyond general statements on the need to address the root causes of the problem to taking concrete steps, within specified timeframes to address these root causes. It also requires, at least in Eritrea’s case, that the selective, mistaken, unjustified and counter-productive politicization of the issue of migration and the consequent victimizationof Eritrean migrants as well as the rampant nationality-switching is brought to a swift end.

As part of a comprehensive approach to address the issue of migration and human trafficking, Eritrea proposes the following:-

• A robust and concerted effort to identify, arrest and prosecute the human trafficking criminals, and all those who in different guises, including human rights activism, are complicit in these crimes.


• A determined effort for broad-based and sustained socio-economic development as well as active citizen political participation to provide increased opportunities for citizens in countries that are currently sources of migration.


• A review of the migration policies of the countries of destination, and in Eritrea’s case, the end of the selective and unjustified politicization of the migration issue.


• Protection of the rights of all migrants, including their right to education, skills training, employment as well as their right to maintain their links to and visit their home country.

Implementation of these measures, with a view to making tangible progress within a time frame of three to five years, requires a strong political will and commitment of all concerned nations as well as their resolute, sustained and coordinated efforts.

For Eritrea, fighting illegal migration and human trafficking is an important national priority. Along with the continued illegal occupation of sovereign territory and the imposition of unjust sanctions, promoting illegal migration has been a particularly insidious part of the tool box employed to undermine the country. Despite these obstructions, however, Eritrea is completely focused on and actively working for sustainable political, social and economic nation-building. Sustained, and relative to our resources, massive investment in socioeconomic reconstruction and human resources development is beginning to bear fruit and we are confident that the next few years will see tangible change in the lives of our people, which will all also have a bearing on migration patterns. Eritrea is determined to work with all partners, the neighboring as well as European countries, to fight human trafficking, which is a crime against humanity, and to address its root causes.

I thank you!

50 Mining Companies Participated in the 5th Asmara Mining Conference

The 5th Asmara Mining Conference was held from 1-5 October 2014 in Asmara under the theme ‘Mining Excellence for Driving Economic Growth’. The Conference was organized by the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Eritrea.

The participants included Eritrean Government officials, representatives of several countries, representatives of 50 mining companies, and mining industry experts.

The Minister of Energy and Mines of Eritrea, General Sbhat Efrem, in his opening remarks indicated that about 60% of Eritrea’s territory contains mineral resources.  The Minister further elucidated the other advantages Eritrea enjoys by stating that: "Given its unique process of nation formation, its excellent strategic location, its disciplined human resources, corruption-free institutions, sound macroeconomic policy, judicious and far looking mining law, and exceptional national cohesion and stability, Eritrea is in far more advantageous position to deal with the transition towards a progressive integration into the globalized economy."

At the Conference, representatives of mining companies and experts presented updates and papers on the experiences, achievements and accomplishments of the mining companies operating in Eritrea.

Furthermore, a pictorial exhibition portraying the activities of the mining companies operating in Eritrea, as well as the firms supplying machineries and equipment was staged at the conference site.

Participants also got the chance to tour Bisha, Koka, Debarwa, Embaderho and Adi-Nifas mines. Steam train journey down the escarpment to Massawa, and visits to Massawa and Dahlak Islands were also organized.

The list of the mining companies currently operating in Eritrea includes Bisha, Zara, Asmara, Colluli, Beijing Sinoma, Andiamo Exploration, Ketina, Kerkebet, Land Energy Group, Adobha Resources, etc. Many more are in the stage of conducting studies.

Eritrea Reaffirmed Unequivocal Condemnation of Terrorism in All Its Forms and Manifestations 

Eritrea’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Girma Asmerom, reaffirmed Eritrea’s unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. He made the remarks on 09 October 2014, at the Sixth Committee of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly on the item concerning measures to eliminate international terrorism.

Ambassador Girma stressed that Eritrea strongly believes that terrorist acts constitute flagrant violations of international law and human decency. He further expressed Eritrea’s conviction that acts of terrorism should not be associated with any single religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group.

The Ambassador went on to emphasize that when combating terrorism any action taken must be consistent with international law, and that the UN as well as regional organizations should play important role in combating terrorism and respecting the rules of engagement.

In this connection, Ambassador Girma stated that in order to combat all types of extremism and terrorism, Eritrea has put in place various national legislative measures, besides taking concrete actions.

Moreover, he underlined that a unified global response is needed to effectively combat the danger posed by terrorists, including information sharing and exchange of best practices among countries and other stakeholders. Ambassador Girma also underscored the need to effectively prevent and control the spread of terrorism, lay equal emphasis on devoting resources to the four pillars identified in the Global Counter Terrorism Strategy, including the root causes of terrorism.

The Ambassador made reference to the need for addressing long-standing inter and intra state conflicts, as well as politically motivated unjust sanctions imposed against developing countries as part of the overall strategy towards fighting all forms of terrorism.

Eri-News Issue 20

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