(Mar 18, 2013, (Deutsche Welle ))--German President Joachim Gauck has begun a four-day official tour to Ethiopia.He is expected to meet Ethiopian leaders,civil society representatives and address the African Union.
President Gauck, who arrived in Addis Ababa on Sunday, met the Ethiopian Prime Minister Haile Mariam Desalegn for dinner shortly after his arrival and was expected to meet his Ethiopian counterpart Girma Wolde-Giorgis on Monday.
The German head of state will also hold talks with members of Ethiopian civil society giving him plenty of opportunity to discuss freedom and individual liberty, a topic which the former Protestant pastor often raises at home.
Ethiopian and German human rights groups, including PEN Center Germany, have sent open letters to President Gauck calling on him to press for the release of political prisoners and journalists in Ethiopia.
Speech to the African Union
On Monday afternoon President Gauck was to address the African Union's Council of Permanent Representatives. According to his speech, details of which were released in advance, Gauck praised the progress that was being made towards democracy in Africa. "It fills me with enthusiasm that democracy in Africa is growing like this," he said. Read more from Deutsche Welle »
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| (March 16, 2013 - Source: Sean Gallup/Getty Images Europe) |
The German head of state will also hold talks with members of Ethiopian civil society giving him plenty of opportunity to discuss freedom and individual liberty, a topic which the former Protestant pastor often raises at home.
Ethiopian and German human rights groups, including PEN Center Germany, have sent open letters to President Gauck calling on him to press for the release of political prisoners and journalists in Ethiopia.
Speech to the African Union
On Monday afternoon President Gauck was to address the African Union's Council of Permanent Representatives. According to his speech, details of which were released in advance, Gauck praised the progress that was being made towards democracy in Africa. "It fills me with enthusiasm that democracy in Africa is growing like this," he said. Read more from Deutsche Welle »
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