April 26, 2017 - Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn hinted on Wednesday that Ethiopia may have a new policy direction replacing the existing policy towards Eritrea, according to the Reporter.

At a press conference he held on Wednesday with local journalists, Hailemariam said that his government has already finalized drafting the new policy direction regarding Eritrea and that it is expected to be tabled before the Council of Ministers very soon.

According to observers, the policy of containing and isolating Eritrea, which has been adopted by Ethiopia after the end of the war, has been effective in targeting and crippling the Eritrean regime. However, it seems that the Eritrean leader have survived all the measures taken by Ethiopia and the international community, including the tough UN economic sanctions, according to the commentators. PM Hailemariam denounced this saying that his government is always determined to bring peace with Eritrea and beyond in the East Africa.

“We have been working tirelessly to bring peace between the two states but nothing has been achieved so far owing to the nature of the Eritrean regime,” Hailemariam told the press on Wednesday.

Thus, his administration is now crafting a brand new policy that centers on creating a sustainable peace, the PM said.

“I can’t speak details of the new policy at this press conference, but I can assure you that the center of the new policy will emphasize on creating sustainable peace,” he said.

Following the end the Ethio-Eritrea War and the decision of the Boundary Commission on the conflict, Ethiopia created a five-point policy for the continuation of engagement with Eritrea: Resolving the dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea only through peaceful means; Resolving the root causes of the conflict through dialogue with the view to normalizing relations between the two countries; Ethiopia accepts, in principle, the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission’s Decision;  Ethiopia agrees to pay its dues to the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission and to appoint field liaison officers and also Ethiopia wishes to start dialogue immediately with the view to implementing the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission's decision in a manner consistent with the promotion or sustainable peace and brotherly ties between the two peoples.   

In a related news, the PM spoke about Ethiopia’s concern owing to the Gulf Countries growing military presence in to the Red Sea area and towards the Horn of Africa(Reporter)