UAE Continue to Invest in Ethiopia
The Claim
The United Arab Emirates threatens to withdraw all investments from Ethiopia in support of Egypt.
News posted on
Emerging story
Widespread posts on social media, particularly from Egyptian users, claim that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is threatening to withdraw all its investments from Ethiopia and instigating countries. Posts refer to the ongoing negotiations of the Renaissance Dam built by Ethiopia. The claims add that the UAE declares that it stands by Egypt and its people stand or the fairness of its position in preserving its water rights and what affects its national security.
Misbar’s Analysis
The Misbar investigation found this claim to be fake. No official sources from the UAE made any announcements on disinvesting in Ethiopia. The Emirati-Ethiopian investments are continuing as usual. A meeting between the UAE ambassador to Ethiopia Mohammed Al Rashid and Suhail Al Banna, the executive Director at Dubai Ports World, indicate mutual investments between the two countries. It was reported on the official UAE Embassy’s Twitter, as seen below.
Furthermore, On March 31, the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Republic of Ethiopia to the UAE, organized a symposium to discuss Ethiopia's investment opportunities. This was shared by Emirati news, as pictured below.
These activities are very recent and indicate a substantial and ongoing investment from the UAE to Ethiopia. The UAE's significant investments in Ethiopia are estimated at $2billion in 2018 and are expected to increase as more investments are announced. A mere week ago, UAE also sent humanitarian aid to Ethiopia to support the Tigray region's situation, containing 46 tons of food and health supplies. It is worth noting that the UAE has pledged approximately $5 million to support displaced individuals on the Ethiopian-Sudanese borders.
The surrounding context and the very recent behavior of the UAE indicate an intention to continue and broaden investments in Ethiopia rather than to discontinue them. This, coupled with a lack of credible sources for the claim, leads the Misbar team to classify it as fake, and the UAE has not threatened to discontinue investments.
