H.E. Mr. Belayhun Yirga, State Minister of the Government’s Legal and Justice Service Division, held a discussion with Ambassador Dr. Simone Knapp, Austrian Ambassador to Ethiopia. The courtesy meeting focused on potential collaborations between the Government of Austria and the Ministry of Justice in areas of transitional justice, human rights, and overall capacity building.
H.E. Mr. Belayhun reiterated the long-standing relationship between Ethiopia and Austria and expressed appreciation for Austria’s various development assistance programs. He briefed the ambassador on several initiatives of potential interest to Austria, including ongoing transitional justice efforts, human rights activities within the Ministry of Justice, business and human rights initiatives, and both short-term and long-term capacity-building programs necessary for the Ministry to fulfill its mandates.
Ambassador Dr. Simone Knapp expressed her appreciation for Ethiopia’s transitional justice and national dialogue initiatives and pledged Austria’s commitment to support these efforts. On capacity building, she highlighted the involvement of Austrian universities in teaching and research through collaborations with Ethiopian universities and indicated the potential to address the Ministry of Justice’s capacity-building needs through this platform. Ambassador Dr. Knapp also promised to inquire about short-term capacity-building programs that could be made available to the Ministry.
