The United States (US) calls on the government of Ethiopia to expedite the resumption of telecommunications services, including the internet, in the areas affected by the conflict between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray Liberation Front (TPLF), as provided for in the November agreement on cessation of hostilities. The US State Department said in a press release published on its website on Tuesday that the US ambassador-at-large for cyberspace and digital policy Nathaniel C. Vick is currently visiting Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for 3 days to attend the 17th annual meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) and meet with his African counterparts. According to the statement, the US ambassador participates in high-level committees dealing with trust and security, as well as data management and privacy protection, with the participation of policy experts from the Office of cyberspace and digital policy of the Ministry of foreign affairs, the Office of International Organization Affairs and the Office of African affairs, as well as other US officials. On the sidelines of the IGF programme, Vick and participants from the US government will meet with a range of officials, civil society organizations and other stakeholders to discuss the importance of multi-stakeholder internet governance, to support the work of the forum and to engage on key public policy issues related to the internet, including the importance of protecting human rights online and digital freedom around the world. While in Addis Ababa, Nathaniel C. Vick will meet with the US mission to the African Union (AU)and interact with other permanent representatives to the AU to emphasize the range of cyberspace and digital policy issues of mutual interest to the US and AU member states.
