President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended his warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia on being awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.

Prime Minister Ahmed has been recognised by the Nobel Committee “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea”.

President Ramaphosa said: “South Africa offers its warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on being awarded this prestigious prize. This award focuses global attention on our continent’s relentless progress towards peace and stability.

“We pay tribute to the governments and peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea for making this achievement possible and for opening up new possibilities for cooperation, integration and development not just on the east coast of our continent but across our continent.

“The peace achieved between these neighbouring states is an important enabler of the African Continental Free Trade Area and of the many objectives of the African Union’s Agenda 2063.

“We all share in Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s achievement and in the future of cooperation and good neighbourliness on which the peoples of Ethiopia and Eritrea have embarked.”

11 October 2019


Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria