This archive report was first published on 17 October 2019.
On the day Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, I visited the Ethiopian embassy in Nairobi to discuss the country's strategic posture in the region and the state of Abiy's reforms with Ambassador Meles Alem.
Meles, an alumnus of Nairobi University, was in high spirits, and fittingly, bow-tied. Our conversation took an unexpected turn as I reflected on my previous visits to the embassy, which had been marked by a sense of neglect and disrepair.
Eight years ago, I had visited the embassy with Nick Wachira, now managing partner at Oxygène Marketing Communications, to interview then-Ambassador Ato Shemsedin Ahmed. At the time, the embassy was an eyesore, with unkempt lawns, peeling buildings, and a swimming pool that had been out of service for nearly 20 years.
Fast forward to 2019, and the transformation was staggering. Ambassador Meles, appointed in January of that year, had overseen a comprehensive renovation of the embassy, including the replanting of the lawn, refurbishment of the buildings, and the restoration of the swimming pool after 30 years.
The embassy has also become a popular venue for Ethiopian wedding receptions, with five such events held there since the upgrades. The ambassador has also redecorated the embassy, adding new art and a fine Ethiopian coffee that greets visitors upon arrival.
Meles emphasized the historical significance of the Kenya-Ethiopia relationship, citing the close ties between Jomo Kenyatta and Emperor Haile Selassie. He even claimed that Kenyatta used to drive across the road from State House to check on the progress of the embassy's construction.
One of the most significant developments, however, is the soon-to-be-opened One Stop Border Point (OSBP) at the Kenya-Ethiopia border in Moyale. This is a rare example of an OSBP between countries that are not part of an economic community, and Meles believes it could be a harbinger of greater cooperation between the two nations.
Meles' analysis is that Abiy's reforms are
