Mudavadi arrives in Ethiopia for 36th Joint Ministerial Commission

Prime Cabinet Secretary and CS for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Musalia Mudavadi has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the 36th Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) meeting.

The Prime CS arrived on Wednesday and is expected to co-chair the JMC meeting with his counterpart Ambassador Taye Selassie between Ethiopia and Kenya.

During the meeting, several agreements aimed at further strengthening bilateral relations between Kenya and Ethiopia will be signed.

Mudavadi was received in Addis Ababa by the Kenyan ambassador to Ethiopia Amb. George Orina and the Director General for African Affairs in the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amb. Fisseh Shawul.

The JMC had been stalled since June 2016.

The Ethiopia-Kenya Joint Ministerial Commission meeting began on Monday in Addis Ababa, and some of the key issues that have been agreed on include exempting Ethiopians from paying the mandatory $30 fee required of foreigners seeking electronic travel authorisation to Kenya.

Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Kenya, Bacha Debele Buta, announced that Ethiopian nationals can visit Kenya free of charge.

He, however, noted that those seeking approvals must fill in the mandatory Electronic Travel Authorisation (eTA) forms to enter the country.

"We kindly inform our citizens that they can enter into Kenya without any requirement for visa and its related payment, but the requirement to fill eTA form online before arrival, remains mandatory,'' the ambassador posted on his X account.

There have been concerns that the new system could negatively affect the age-old relationship between Nairobi and Addis Ababa.

Last week, Mudavadi was in Addis Ababa for the 44th ordinary session of the African Union’s Executive Council of Foreign Affairs Ministers.

He also attended the 44th ordinary session of the African Union’s Executive Council.