The bomb blast which rocked a campaign rally on Saturday in Ethiopia shall be investigated by experts of the United States’ premium police department; the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The news was confirmed Monday by the state-run Fana Broadcasting Corporation.
During his discussions with Ethiopia’s minister of Foreign Affairs, the U.S Under Secretary of Commerce, Gilbert Kaplan made the remarks hinting at Washington’s decision to dispatch FBI agents to seek answers.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed survived a grenade attack last Saturday during a rally aimed at pushing for his radical economic and political reforms, with plans of reincarnation a decades-long peace deal with its regional rival, Eritrea.
In a statement issued on Friday by the United States in support of Ethiopia’s decision to resolve a border dispute with Eritrea, as the Trump administration ”looks forward to a normalization of relations” between the two nations.
During his meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister of Ethiopia, Under-Secretary Kaplan expressed the United States support for Prime Minister Abiy’s economic reforms including the liberalization of the country’s economy.
Only recently did Ethiopia announce the desire to privatize state-owned entities such as telecommunications company and the thriving national carrier, Ethiopian Airlines.
Optimistic at the prospect for bilateral trade and investment, Kaplan says the U.S. is looking forward to a more liberalized economy.
As of March 2018, the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) says there have been nearly 251 investment projects from the United States alone active across Ethiopia.
Neba Benson,
BaretaNews Foreign Correspondent/Analyst
