It is Jubilation time for Ethiopia as her Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali wins the 100th Nobel Peace Prize award for his peacemaking efforts with Eritrea.
Ethiopia and Eritrea, longtime foes who fought a border war from 1998 to 2000, restored relations in July 2018 after years of hostility.
Worthy of note is that Abiy Ahmed Ali emerged the winner amongst the 301 nominees nominated for this year’s prize, 223 of the nominees are individuals and 78 are organisations.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it “has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2019 to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.”
The statement continued:
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has been awarded this year’s #NobelPeacePrize for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea.
The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize is also meant to recognise all the stakeholders working for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and in the East and Northeast African regions.
In close cooperation with Isaias Afwerki, the President of Eritrea, this year’s Peace Laureate Abiy Ahmed quickly worked out the principles of a peace agreement to end the long “no peace, no war” stalemate between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
In Ethiopia, even if much work remains, Peace Laureate Abiy Ahmed has initiated important reforms that give many citizens hope for a better life and a brighter future. As Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed has sought to promote reconciliation, solidarity and social justice.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee believes it is now that Abiy Ahmed’s efforts deserve recognition and need encouragement. The committee hopes that the 2019 #NobelPeacePrize will strengthen Prime Minister Abiy in his important work for peace and reconciliation.
The Nobel committee however released a recording of a phone call placed to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed by Olav Njølstad, Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, the call was made shortly after the public announcement.
In a response to the placed call, the Ethiopian prime minister said he was humbled by the award and hence dedicated it to Ethiopia and Africa at large.
His Words Read:
“I am so humbled and thrilled when I just heard the news. Thank you very much. It is a prize given to Africa, given to Ethiopia…I am so thrilled.”
