Tayeb, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Makkah Region and Merwan Bedri, Consul General of Ethiopia are accompanied by other consuls as they cut the cake celebrating the 20th anniversary of Ethiopia's National Day in Jeddah. (SG photos by Naif Masrahi)The consulate of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Jeddah recently celebrated its 20th National Day at the Crowne Plaza hotel. The ceremony was attended by various consuls general from Jeddah as well as Mohammed Al-Tayeb, Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah Region. “Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia have had a long standing relation for many centuries, both in terms of business and people-to-people contact,” remarked Merwan Bedri, Consul General of Ethiopia in Jeddah. He added that the relationship got into momentum during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). The ceremony aired a documentary about Ethiopia entitled “Discover Ethiopia”alongside the ceremonial cutting of a cake and the singing of the Ethiopian national anthem. The two nations opened diplomatic relations in 1948 when Ethiopia opened its diplomatic mission in the Kingdom, becoming one of the first to do so. “The two countries have enjoyed a cordial relationship in the past 20 years based on the mutual respect,” Consul General Bedri observed.
