Ethiopian Prime Minister, Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn, on Wednesday said those who fund the activities of terrorists in Africa are outside the continent.He stressed the need for designing an African way of stopping the funding.Desalegn spoke during a press conference he addressed with President Goodluck Jonathan inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja as part of activities lined up for his two-day visit to Nigeria.He also said terrorism had nothing to do with religion or politics as people are made to believe.While describing terrorism as a global phenomenon, the Ethiopian leader said countries in East Africa have been battling with the menace in the last 10 years.He promised that they would continue to fight until what he described as ideological bankruptcy stops.He said, “This is an ideological bankrupt process and it is also indiscriminate killing of humanity and so it has nothing to do with religion or political ambition which some might used as disguise.“It is a bankrupt ideology and so we need to cooperate.“There is a funding source which is out there outside the African continent. So we have to find an African way to to ensure the funding sources dry up. This needs cooperation.“So,we in the continent who understand and are hit by terrorists should be the ones leading the process. That is what we agreed that if Nigeria and Ethiopia and other African nations who have been hit time and again by terrorism will take the forefront in fighting this process, we can get others to come on board.”Jonathan talked about how the two countries have resolved to partner in the areas of agriculture, transportation and power among others.In a joint statement issued at the end of Desalegn’s two-day visit, the two leaders condemned the growing incidence of terrorism and the menace it constitutes for many countries.They made particular reference to the Horn of Africa where El-Shabab is holding sway; in Mali and the Sahel as AlQaeda-in-the Maghreb and Boko Haram in Nigeria.They also expressed concern at the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, which they argued constitutes significantly to instability and insecurity in different parts of the world, especially in Africa.They urged all countries to ratify the United Nations Global Arms Trade Treaty. (Punch)
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