Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today, beating out teenage climate change, Greta Thunberg, who was tipped to win the honour.
Thunberg, who delivered a rousing speech at the UN conference last month, was reportedly the bookies' favourite to win the award, with Ladbrokes citing odds of 4/6 for her to win, per The Daily Mail.
The committee, however, chose to present Ahmed with the prestigious honour, stating "Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali has been awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea."
Ethiopia and Eritrea were embroiled in a border war from 1998 to 2000, and under Ahmed's tenancy were able to restore relations in July of 2018.
"When Abiy Ahmed became Prime Minister in April 2018, he made it clear that he wished to resume peace talks with Eritrea," the committee continued.
"In close cooperation with Isaias Afwerki, the President of Eritrea, Abiy Ahmed quickly worked out the principles of a peace agreement to end the long 'no peace, no war' stalemate between the two countries.
These principles are set out in the declarations that Prime Minister Abiy and President Afwerki signed in Asmara and Jeddah last July and September."
An important premise for the breakthrough was Abiy Ahmed's unconditional willingness to accept the arbitration ruling of an international boundary commission in 2002.
Peace does not arise from the actions of one party alone. When Prime Minister Abiy reached out his hand, President Afwerki grasped it, and helped to formalise the peace process between the two countries. "
Watch Greta Thunberg rebuke world leaders:While the Norwegian Nobel Committee acknowledged that there was still much work to do in Ethiopia, they asserted that the 43-year-old had initiated reforms which gave his citizens "hope for a better life and a brighter future".
