Egyptian citizen Hamdy Al-Anany was deported from Ethiopia, an incident that prompted the Egyptian Foreign Ministry to express “deep regrets,” and demand explanation in a statement on Sunday.Getachew Reda communication advisor to the Prime Minister confirmed Al-Anany’s deportation to The Reporter. Al Anany served as Ethiopia’s director of Egypt’s official state-run news agency, the Middle East News Agency (MENA).Another senior government official told The Reporter that the government of Ethiopia mostly deports citizens of any country when there is a national security threat. He also stated that Ethiopia does not deport anyone without proper reasoning. Spokesman of Egypt’s Foreign Ministry Badr Abdelatty said that the Egyptian foreign ministry demanded an official memo that the Ethiopian foreign ministry provide “explanations and clarifications” on the reasons behind Al-Anany’s deportation.Mustafa Ahmeday public relations attaché of the Egyptian embassy in Ethiopia on his part told The Reporter that the embassy would submit the request for clarification to the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). “We are waiting for a response and we are expecting that the government will give us information after finalizing its investigation.”Ethiopian and Egyptian diplomatic, economic and political relations have been strained since Ethiopia began construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam in April 2011.Egypt’s plans to sabotage the construction of the dam a few months ago was revealed in a leaked video when officials of Egypt discussed the alternatives to destabilize Ethiopia; however, the government says that Ethiopia is committed to finalize the project within the specified period of time. Hamdy Al-Anany who was working as the director of MENA in Addis Ababa was also accredited to the African Union Commission (AUC) for a period of less than a year.The Middle East News Agency was established in 1955 as a joint stock company owned by Egyptian press establishments.
↧
