The Secretary-General met today with Mr. H. E. Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, in the margins of the Third Financing for Development Conference.

The Secretary-General commended the strong leadership of the Prime Minister in working to produce a historic outcome document for the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, and briefed him on his own efforts to secure an agreement with the various negotiators.
He said a successful outcome would be positive for Ethiopia, Africa, and the planet as a whole.

The Secretary-General also thanked Ethiopia for the great sacrifices the Ethiopian troops have made to bring peace and stability to Somalia. He underlined his profound concern over the situation in South Sudan and hoped that the international community would provide unified support for IGAD efforts to achieve an end to the fighting.

The Secretary-General congratulated the Prime Minister on the recent successful holding of elections and counted on his continued leadership to ensure participatory democracy and space for freedom of speech and press, as well as for human rights activists. The Secretary-General warmly commended Ethiopia’s impressive example in achieving increased women’s political representation.