Pan-African Frequency

BRICS and South-South Cooperation: Pillars of African Solidarity

15:47, 16 September 2025
Adeola Oyewole
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This episode explores how Africa is authoring its own economic & diplomatic destiny as Ethiopia reclaims its narrative through culture & the GERD dam, while pointing out the country’s continuous power supply to neighboring nations, underscoring a commitment to pan-African solidarity.
Sputnik
The conversation with Ambassador Nebiyu Tedla, Ethiopia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, is a deep dive into how Ethiopia is assertively writing its own chapter on the global stage. He detailed the significance of cultural festivals like Enkutatash and Meskel as tools of cultural diplomacy, showcasing Ethiopia's ancient and dynamic identity to the world. The discussion then focused on the fight for the repatriation of looted artifacts, framing it not as blame but as a pursuit of justice and the restoration of dignity and memory for the African continent.

“BRICS and South-South cooperation plays a very significant role in strengthening our solidarity. [...] Repatriation is not only about blaming, but it's about doing justice to what has been done in the past [...] this year the African Union theme of the year also relates and resonates with this concept. And it has made the theme "Justice for Africans and the people of African descent through reparation". This is the continental theme for the African Union, and Ethiopia fully shares this vision, not only as a national concern, not only as a host to the African Union, but also as part of the African broader journey of reclaiming our own identity, bringing back what belongs to us, not just the cultural artifacts, but also the conceptual psyche behind it should also be repatriated,” the ambassador explained.

In his remarks about how the Grand Renaissance Dam affects regional integration in Eastern Africa and power dynamics in the region of the Horn, the ambassador noted that the creation and operation of the dam is a means of creating the energy dynamic in the region.
The project is not only meant to be for the Ethiopian people, but it is also meant to the broader Eastern Africa and beyond, for that matter. So as you may know there are these infrastructural programs within the African Union and one of these programs in the 2063 Agenda is the connectivity of the continent through energy. And I believe that Ethiopia being a hub for energy will continue to connect the region through energy and play its dynamic role in the uplifting of millions of Africans from abject poverty. And for that we are very much thankful to those who make this project a success,“ he noted.
This episode also features:
Yohannes Shiferaw (PhD), Assistant Professor of Journalism and Communication at Addis Ababa University.
To listen to the full discussions with our guests, tune in to the Pan African Frequency podcast, brought to you by Sputnik Africa.
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