Germany and Ethiopia warn against collapse of rules-based order

Addis Ababa [Ethiopia], January 23: Germany and Ethiopia on Thursday highlighted the importance of the United Nations for conflict resolution, as US President Donald Trump launched a new international body widely considered a challenge to the decades-old organization.
"In times of geopolitical crises, the answer cannot be to withdraw from the international order and seek to replace its central institutions," German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said after talks with Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairperson of the African Union Commission, in Addis Ababa.
"We all know that the international order is being disrupted, which creates a sense of uncertainty and unpredictability for the future," Youssouf said.
"It's certainly not helpful, nor can we properly plan the full execution of our peace and development agenda in these circumstances. Let us hope that reason and wisdom will prevail over reckless and disruptive decisions that have global impacts."
Trump signed the founding charter of the Board of Peace at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.Wadephul acknowledged that the UN is in need of reform to become more effective and representative, in response to a question by a journalist following a meeting with his Ethiopian counterpart Gedion Timothewos.
However, the UN is the international peace organization that the German government supports, "and on which we are focusing our efforts," Wadephul said. "That is why we did not take part in today's signing ceremony."He added that Germany continues to have "a few questions for the American administration" regarding the Board of Peace, which would now be discussed.
Wadephul, who arrived in Ethiopia on the heels of a one-day visit to Kenya, highlighted the importance of strengthening ties with the African Union, an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Addis Ababa and made up of 55 member states.
Source: Qatar Tribune