The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen began her official visit to Ethiopia on Saturday.
The trip marks her first visit outside the EU since she took up her new position, where immigration and support for African security operations will be on the agenda.
The former German Defence minister took up her position on the 1st of December and landed in Addis Ababa on Saturday. Her first visit was at the African Union headquarters to meet the president of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat.
She then met Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Tuesday.
Ethiopia is preparing for the general elections to be held in May 2020.
The two leaders discussed the EU providing Ethiopia with aid. The EU is Africa’s main trading partner and its main source of investment and development aid.
But the two parties have had difficulties limiting the number of immigrants heading to Europe using dangerous maritime routes over the last few years.
The Brussels Times
