French president Emmanuel Macron (R) and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed are both keen to present themselves as reformist leaders (AFP Photo/Michel Euler)Paris (AFP) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday hailed "unprecedented" moves by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to transform his country as the young African leader makes his first trip to Europe. Abiy, 42, has won global praise for forging peace with neighbouring Eritrea, announcing economic reforms and reaching out to dissidents, but is grappling with bloody ethnic disputes which have displaced some 1.4 million people. "I know how much he has risked to see these reforms through and how much these reforms are fraught with difficulties, but also how much Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has chosen a courageous path," Macron told reporters. Abiy vowed to tackle the violence gripping Ethiopia, saying it would be resolved through "greater peace-building in the whole country". "The communal conflicts cannot undo the reform agenda," he added, arguing that economic reforms would help end the violence by bringing greater prosperity.

Source: Ethiopian News October 29, 2018 19:07 UTC