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Addis Ababa – The suspension of development aid by the United States to pressure Ethiopia regarding the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), “does not make any sense,” said the former Under Secretary of State for African Affairs, Ambassador Herman J. Cohen.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo would have approved a plan to stop US foreign aid to Ethiopia, as the administration failed to impose an unacceptable agreement on the country over its dispute with Egypt and Sudan over the filling and operation of GERD.
The Trump administration’s decision could affect up to $ 130 million in aid to Ethiopia, it said.
However, Ambassador Cohen said that the suspension of economic development aid by the United States to pressure Ethiopia to accept Egypt’s position in the GERD negotiations “does not make any sense.”
The ambassador also wrote on his twitter that the decision “the only result is that the United States is no longer considered an impartial mediator and Ethiopia’s position is hardened.”
Another former US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Ambassador Johnnie Carson, also criticized the decision to suspend aid to Ethiopia a few days ago and urged the United States to take immediate steps to amend its ways before it is too late.
Ambassador Carson described the US decision as wrong, myopic and will undermine Washington’s relations and influence in one of the most important states in Africa.
