The Secretary-General and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, making their first stop in their joint tour of the Horn of Africa region in Addis Ababa, met with Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn and Foreign Minister Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia. The Prime Minister welcomed the United Nations-World Bank joint initiative to address food security and development in the Horn of Africa, with the Secretary-General underscoring their relationship with peace and security issues of the region.

They agreed on the urgent need to mobilize greater regional and international support for the global fight against the Ebola epidemic. The Secretary-General commended Ethiopia’s contributions to the regional efforts against Ebola.

On the situation in South Sudan, the Secretary-General stressed the need for the parties to the conflict to urgently come to an agreement built on trust and accountability.  The Secretary-General agreed with the Prime Minister that every effort should be made to ensure that the current peace process yields an agreement as soon as possible.

With respect to Somalia, the Secretary-General and the Prime Minister noted significant progress on the security front and recognized AMISOM’s achievements. They also emphasized the need for the leaders of the Federal Government of Somalia to be united to better tackle the challenges facing Somalia, including extending state authority and basic services particularly to newly recovered areas.