Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday, December 10, skipped the launch of the Likoni floating bridge in Mombasa County.
Earlier communication from the State House, Nairobi, had indicated that the Prime Minister who is on his second-day visit to the country would attend the event.
His host, President Uhuru Kenyatta, proceeded with the event where he commissioned the construction of the Ksh4.5 billion Makupa bridge and 1.2-kilometer Liwatoni FLoating Bridge.
Prime Minister Ahmed's visit to Kenya came in the midst of a conflict between Ethiopia and Tigray's People Liberation Front.
According to the United Nations, the war is said to have killed thousands and displaced more than 950,000 people.
During his first day, he along with President Uhuru opened a one-stop border post in Moyale as well as launched the mega-highway linking South Ethiopia with Kenya's Indian Ocean port of Mombasa. During a statement, he furthered the agenda of peace.
"Just like the infrastructure, we should work on peace and security. Peace is our foundation for everything we are aspiring to transform in the lives of our people," he stated at the border town of Moyale.
He also noted that the opening of the border post would boost the economic ties between the two countries.
"By aligning the working days and hours, procedures and formalities as well as through the development and sharing of common facilities and joint controls, the border post will reduce the time taken and costs incurred to clear goods across both borders," Ahmed stated.
Consistent conflicts and wars in the country have stopped the landlocked country from emerging as an industrial hub and thriving in the manufacturing sector.
Currently, Ethiopia faces a huge risk of losing investors due to the Tigray conflicts along with the rising Ethiopian government debt.
Furthermore, the situation is worsened due to the impact of Covid-19 in the area. The country has recorded 114,834 positive cases with 1,769 fatalities.
For more than a decade, the government, in its efforts, has poured billions into hydroelectric dams, railways, and highways in the country in a bid to revive the manufacturing sector.
This has however been hindered by the instability in the country.
