ERI-NEWS

Bi-Weekly Newsletter
Prepared by the Press Section of the
Permanent Mission of the State of Eritrea to AU
and UNECA

Press Release Vol 5. Issue 78

Indian Ocean Newsletter: Another False Story
21 February 2018
In its 16 February publi- ably launched “personal
cation (No 1468), the initiatives” towards this In this issue
Indian Ocean Newsletter end.
(ION) falsely claims that
It is not the first time for
“talks are underway
the ION to indulge in
between Eritrea and
innuendos, and/or to Team Eritrea
Ethiopia to resolve the
publish utterly fictitious
border dispute”. Reaffirmed its 3
news and analysis on
The Newsletter goes on to say: “… Eritrea and the region as a whole. The Dominance of
Official communications between the timing of this particular disinformation African Cycling
two countries had already begun in the however raises questions of ulterior
greatest secrecy and a meeting had been motive.
planned between the Eritrean President
Be that as it may, the Ministry of Infor-
Issayas Afwerki and the former Ethio-
mation advises the ION to give some
pian Prime Minister Hailemariam
respect to its readers and desist from
Desalegn…who stepped down yester-
disseminating hoax news for trite
day”. reasons of sensationalization or other
To imbue credibility to this hoax, sinister agendas.
“exclusively obtained”, story, ION Ministry of Information
produces a list of personalities and Asmara
“accredited figures” who have presume- 17 February 2018

“Russia stands for the earliest possible lifting of sanctions from

Eritrea” Ambassador of Russian Federation to Eritrea
The following are excerpts from an ground on issues Contact Addresses:
interview of H.E. Azim Yarakhmedov, of mutual inter- Tel: +251-116620052
ests, identifying Fax:+251-116620011
Ambassador of Russian Federation to Email:eritreanaumission@
Eritrea, published on the Embassy’s new areas of our gmail.com
bilateral coopera- P.o.Box: 5527
Newsletter in February 2018. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
tion.
“Russian-Eritrean relations have been “Since 2015 Rus- Eritrean Mission to
developing dynamically in recent sia and Eritrea AU& ECA
years. Together with the Government have restored
of Eritrea, we are looking for common @EritreaAU
Contd. on page 2

Vol 5. Issue 78, 21 February 2018

Page 2
“Russia stands for the earliest possible lifting of sanctions from Eritrea”…
the most important area of cooperation. I mean the
training of highly qualified Eritrean personnel in
Russian universities. Since two years more than 50
Eritrean students have gone to study in Russia.
After graduation, they all will return to their home-
land and will work in the development of their
country. I am sure they will become a bridge for the
further development of our relations. We offer the
Eritrean side to choose the training priorities
because only Eritrea knows what skills are needed
and what areas face a shortage of qualified person-
nel. In 2018, we plan to increase the quota allocated
by the Russian Government to Eritrea. We will try
to meet the needs of Asmara in qualified workers.
“...we are actively discussing the
prospects for Russian - Eritrean
cooperation in the trade and economic
spheres, trying to stipulate the whole
range of Russian goods in which
Eritrea is interested for the development
of its own economy.”
“Today we are actively discussing the prospects for
Russian - Eritrean cooperation in the trade and eco-
nomic spheres, trying to stipulate the whole range
of Russian goods in which Eritrea is interested for
the development of its own economy. In 2017,
Russian company “KAMAZ” signed an agreement
with Eritrean partners to deliver a batch of trucks
that will be used for the development of the
country’s mining sector. There are also a number of
agreements in other areas. Already, we are consid-
ering the possibility of attracting Russian invest-
ments to participate in development projects in
various sectors of the Eritrean economy. I am
convinced that this work will eventually succeed,
because both Russia and Eritrea are interested in
strengthening bilateral relations on the basis of
mutual benefit.
“Such activation of Russian- Eritrean cooperation
simultaneously in several directions became possi-
ble in many respects due to the fact that the Eritrean
Vol 5. Issue 78, 21 February 2018
Eri-News
Cond. from page 1
foreign policy and its positions on major interna-
tional problems coincided with the Russian position.
All of the above allows us today to cooperate closely
with Eritrean partners on international fora, to act
basing on similar standpoints, and to be co-authors
of UN resolutions.
Russia stands for the earliest possible lifting of
sanctions from Eritrea….further preservation
of anti-Eritrean sanctions seriously damages
the country’s social and economic development,
its population, and also hinders the improve-
ment of democratic institutions in Eritrea.
“Russia stands for the earliest possible lifting of
sanctions from Eritrea. I am convinced that the
current sanctions should be reviewed and lifted in the
shortest term. This position is confirmed by the
conclusions of the UN Monitoring Group, which for
several years in its reports keeps writing that over the
years of its work it has not been able to find any
evidence and signs of Eritrea’s cooperation with the
terrorist group Al-Shabab operating in Somalia. I
believe that further preservation of anti-Eritrean
sanctions seriously damages the country’s social and
economic development, its population, and also
hinders the improvement of democratic institutions in
Eritrea.
“I am sure that all countries that see themselves as
friends of Eritrea should provide all possible
assistance to the Eritrean Government for the
solution of the tasks that the country faces. Eritrea is
one of the youngest states in the world, which, as my
conversations with the leadership of the country
show, wants to create a socially protected country
with strong democratic institutions for its population.
It seems to me that this goal is very correct and digni-
fied; therefore, all of us should help this proud and
freedom-loving people in achieving its goals.”
To read the longer version: http://shabait.com/
categoryblog/25738-ambassador-azim-yarakhmedov
-we-all-should-help-eritrean-people-to-achieve-their-
noble-goals
Page 3 Eri-News

Team Eritrea Reaffirmed its Dominance of African Cycling

Eritrea, the African cycling powerhouse, comfortably In what has become a common sight at the Champion-
cemented its dominance of African Cycling by ships, Team Eritrea won the elite men team time trial
winning 10 out of the 12 races held at the African (TTT) competition for a record 8th consecutive time.
Continental Road Championships, held in Rwanda At the latest Championships, Team Eritrea amassed
from 13-18 February 2018. 20 medals; 10 of them gold, and 5 silver and 5 bronze.
The Championships witnessed the participation of 22 The team received a heroes’ welcome upon return to
African teams composed of 167 cyclists. Asmara.

Vol 5. Issue 78, 21 February 2018