Envoy: Ethiopia embassy in Egypt to temporarily close

The Ethiopian embassy in the Egyptian capital Cairo will temporarily suspend its operations for a period ranging from three to six months as of October, the ambassador said yesterday.

“The embassy is going to close down starting from October for three to six months due to economic and financial reasons to reduce expenses,” Ambassador Markos Tekle Rike told BBC Arabic.

The decision, he stressed, has nothing to do with the dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), adding that Ethiopia has also temporarily closed 30 other embassies in a number of countries including Canada and across the Gulf states due to the economic crisis.

He noted that the embassy’s commissioner will manage its affairs during this period.

Earlier this month, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Dina Mufti explained that the decision to suspend work at a number of embassies will not affect diplomatic relations with the respective countries.

Last month, the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, said Ethiopia’s ten-month war in Tigray has drained more than $1 billion from the country’s coffers.

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