ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government has called on the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to strengthen its support to Ethiopia in the migration response efforts.
This came during the meeting of Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen with the IOM Director General Amy Pope in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, Tuesday.
Mekonnen expressed his desire for a strong partnership between the UN migration agency and the Ethiopian government, the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He called on the IOM to scale up its support for the East African country in its endeavors to manage migration.
Recalling the peaceful resolution to the two-year conflict in Northern Ethiopia, Mekonnen also briefed Pope on the implementation of the Pretoria peace accord between the conflict parties. He underscored IOM's key role in the resettlement and rehabilitation programs.
Pope underscored IOM's commitment to its partnership with Ethiopia in the resettlement and rebuilding of refugees, according to the statement.
During her visit to Ethiopia, Pope also met with the African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.
"We discussed how the IOM and the AU can work together to harness the potential of human mobility in Africa by creating more regular pathways for migrants," Pope said via social media X, formerly known as Twitter. ■