- The first Ethiopians I met were in refugee camps in Somalia, where I served as Protection Officer for the UNHCR in 1988. My daughter Hanna was named after one of the refugees I met there. Then I visited Ethiopia for the first time in 1992, and from 1997 until 2000, I served as Counsellor at the embassy here. The fact that I returned as Ambassador six years later shows that the country had a huge impact on me.
Ambassador Kjemprud is packing up, about to take up a new posting as Ambassador of Norway to the Sudan. The football-loving winner of four Great-Run Diplomatic races will bring with him many memories from his time here.
-I cannot decide which is the strongest, there are so many of them! Ethiopia is an overwhelming country, with its immensely rich and diversified culture and historical heritage. I think what I will remember the most is the sum total of all of this, plus my meetings with people. I find some similarities between Ethiopians and Norwegians; before people get to know us, we are quiet and somewhat drawn-back, but once a friendship is established, we are close and direct people. I think that spending time in getting to know people is pivotal before one tries to make statements about people, cultures and countries. One needs to understand “what lies underneath”, and to do this, one needs to be humble. Being humble is a cornerstone in diplomacy, I would say.
When setting the course for Khartoum, Ambassador Kjemprud leaves behind a legacy of good bilateral relations between Norway and Ethiopia:
- The main goal for an ambassador is to secure and improve bilateral relations. The relations between our two countries are very firm and solid today. They have been built on many levels; from the individual levels between people working within development, missionary organizations and academia all the way up to Prime Ministers Meles and Stoltenberg co-chairing the United Nations high-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing. In later years, another component has been strengthened within our bilateral relations, namely business. The ties in this sector were strong at the time when the Mosvold Company and Alf.R Bjercke paint factory were operating in Ethiopia, and are being strengthened today through rose-import by Norwegian florist chain-Mester Grønn, import of honey by Norwegian Company “Honningcentralen” as well as Yaras exploration for potash in the Afar-Region as well as a big supplier of fertilizer to Ethiopia. And the interest for Ethiopia in Norway is growing: on the 23rd of August, I took part at a conference between the Norwegian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Norwegian Business community in Oslo where 82 companies requested a meeting because they were interested to learn more about Ethiopia! I would also like to add that during the last month, our embassy has processed visas for 102 Ethiopians going to Norway for study-purposes.
Jens Petter Kjemprud feels that he did not get time to see enough of the country during his stay in Ethiopia. For instance, he never got the chance to travel to the Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz regions.
-The times when I have gotten out of the office have been among the most interesting times, and the times when I have learned the most. I have seen that there is economical development all over the country due to the infrastructural expansion, and that in addition to the formation of a middle class in the cities, farmers also benefit from this expansion.
When looking and thinking ahead about Ethiopia in terms of politics and civil society, Ambassador Kjemprud says that the country is within a transformational period where civil-society actors are thinking about how they can build a culture for voluntarism in Ethiopia. All political stakeholders are doing self-searching on how to pave their way forward in the next years:
-External actors cannot contribute in a positive way within the sectors of civic society, governance and related issues unless they have a deep and comprehensive understanding of the Ethiopian society as a whole. And development within these sectors will not be sustainable unless there is a sense of ownership of the process among all the citizens of the country.
When Kjemprud was informed about his new posting, his immediate reaction was:
-For one, I thought “It is only a one hour thirty minutes flight away from Addis Abeba, so I can return every weekend. My second reaction was that I would try to get at flat here. The latter might be difficult, but the first is possible. I think that my posting here in Addis Abeba, both as the capital of Ethiopia, and the capital of the Africa Union has given me knowledge which can be put to good use in my next posting; the Ethiopian and AU-perspectives are important when trying to understand the situation in the Sudan.
Kjemprud joins a long line of Norwegians who have a strong relation with Ethiopia. There are a large number of Norwegians who have worked in Ethiopia, and whose children have returned and remained closely attached within the country:
-My two children accompanied me in my first posting here, and they both-as I do - regard Ethiopia as their second country. They are both planning to return. Ethiopia runs in my family, and it is a country I love, concludes Jens Petter Kjemprud.