By Giulia Paravicini
ADDIS ABABA, Feb 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo met with Ethiopia's reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed
and other officials on Tuesday on a visit expected to focus on
security, investment and Ethiopia's dispute with U.S. ally
Egypt.
Abiy welcomed Pompeo and his wife on their arrival then they
went into lunch.
Their talks are expected to focus on security concerns ahead
of Ethiopian elections this year, investment opportunities as
Abiy opens up the economy to foreign investment, and a dispute
the United States has been trying to mediate between Ethiopia
and Egypt over Ethiopia's giant Blue Nile hydropower dam.
Abiy took power in 2018 following years of anti-government
protests. He freed political prisoners, won the Nobel Peace
Prize for ending a long-running conflict with neighbouring
Eritrea, and has begun liberalising sectors of the state-run
economy.
Ethiopia, Africa's second-most populous nation, has long
been an ally of the United States but the difficulty of doing
business in its sluggish and bureaucratic economy has
discouraged foreign investment.
Abiy has promised to liberalise the telecoms and banking
sectors but this year he is likely to be occupied with elections
scheduled for Aug. 29.
His reforms, while applauded abroad, have also unleashed
simmering ethnic and political tensions at home as regional
powerbrokers jockey for position. More than 2 million of
Ethiopia's 109 million citizens have been displaced, according
to the United Nations.
Pompeo is on the second leg of a tour that has already taken
him to Germany, Senegal and Angola. His visit comes as some
African governments are questioning U.S. President Donald
Trump's commitment to their continent.
(Writing by Katharine Houreld)