Link to article: https://allafrica.com/stories/202404200073.html
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) still has defined worries about the state of Ethiopia moving forward. Despite Ethiopia’s peace agreement from just a year ago halting war, surrounding humanitarian crisis and violence looms over the state. Security risks in the region are currently high with spreading terrorist attacks and troubles blanketing Sudan. These worries could lead to problems for Ethiopia’s economy projecting outwards. This has in return led to a projected 6.2 percent economic growth for the state, which is not quite as high from the over 7 percent projection by the IMF just last year. These projections reside in the IMF’s most recent Sub-Saharan Africa report, which also lays out a few somewhat positive trends for the Ethiopian economy. The surrounding violence has led IMF officials to look into a financial package for Ethiopia to help keep the economy moving in the positive direction that it is. THe specifics of this package are not yet finalized.
The details and numbers residing in the IMF report do not seem too worrying, however, some of the written concerns of the report seem alarming. The nearby terrorist threats and humanitarian crises will likely affect Ethiopia more so through incoming migrants than anything. Fleeing Sudanese civilians among others could lead to more overpopulation, potentially hurting the economy slightly in return, but no direct threats of violence appear too prominent at the moment, at least nothing out of the ordinary for Ethiopia. Ethiopia may be aware of the concerns, but are still in a more stable position than surrounding countries at the moment. Also the peace agreement from a year ago has pushed the country and its economy in a positive direction.
Relating to human rights violations and international law, Ethiopia seems to be in a more comfortable position than it has in years past, however, surrounding the country are all sorts of major threats and violations. The humanitarian crisis in the region has garnered the attention of countries around the world and will likely see support being driven towards Sudan and nearby countries, Ethiopia included, to help with the vast array of problems that will continue to rise. Due to Ethiopia’s poor track record of human rights violations in previous years, it is refreshing to know that the concerns for the economy are due to things going on around the country, not within.