Addis Ababa, 28 December 2023: The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, welcomes the signing on 28 December 2023 of the Grant Agreement of one million United States dollars (US $ 1,000,000) between the African Union (AU) and the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE). 

The grant is provided through the Crisis Reserve Facility of the AU Peace Fund as part of AU’s support to the effective implementation of the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) program, pursuant to the Agreement for Lasting Peace through the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA), signed between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), on 2 November 2022 in Pretoria, South Africa.

Significantly, the Chairperson notes that this extension of the grant, marks Ethiopia becoming the first AU Member State to benefit directly from the AU Peace Fund since its operationalization in 2023. 

The Chairperson underscores the importance of the outcome of the Joint Committee meeting of 1 December 2023 in Addis Ababa, wherein the delegates of the FDRE, TPLF, AU Commission and the AU High-Level Panel, reaffirmed the commitment to the full and expeditious implementation of the COHA, including the DDR process.

The Chairperson renews profound appreciation to the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE), H.E. Dr Abiy Ali Ahmed and Getachew Reda, Head of the Interim Regional Administration of Tigray, for their continued commitment to implement the COHA within the spirit of African solutions to African problems. 

The Chairperson equally expresses gratitude to all Ethiopian, regional and international actors for their continued steadfast support to the AU-led peace process for northern Ethiopia. The Chairperson calls specifically on bilateral and multilateral partners to concretely offer support to the AU-led process towards the implementation of the COHA.