Ethiopia’s PM Abiy Ahmed Ali wins Nobel Peace Prize

Ethiopian prime minister’s efforts to bring peace in his country have been crowned by success. Abiy Ahmed Ali was awarded of the Nobel Peace Prize this week, Al Jazeera reports.

PM Ahmed Abiy became the world-known person on Friday when the Norwegian Nobel Committee has marked him as a winner for formalising a peace process with Eritrea and given many Ethiopians a “better life and brighter future”.

In her speech, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Berit Reiss-Andersen said PM Abiy’s efforts could end the rapprochement with Eritrea within a very short period.

The 43-year-old Abiy sparked historic conflict with Eritrea soon after coming to power in April last year, restoring ties that had been frozen since a 1998-2000 border war.

For Africa’s youngest leader, peace means a lot, he also helped mediate a maritime territory dispute between Kenya and Somalia and has been a key part of efforts to bring together the leaders of Sudan and South Sudan for talks.

In his efforts to develop Ethiopia’s economy, the prime minister has introduced a series of sweeping political and economic adjustments. Abiy has granted amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, discontinued media censorship and dismissed several high-profile figures suspected to be guilty of corruption.