The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia dispatched a high-level ministerial delegation led by Ambassador Berhanu Tsegaye Abera, minister of state in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to assess the damage to important infrastructure and facilities in Black River and Savanna-La-Mar in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa. 

The delegation included senior technical officers from several federal government agency heads to assess the damage left after Hurricane Melissa visited Jamaica from December 4^th – 6^th, 2025. 

The visit is a follow-up to discussions held between prime ministers Dr Andrew Holness and Dr Abiy Ahmed at the recent G20 Summit in South Africa, following the direct impact of the category five hurricane on western and north-western parishes of Jamaica on October 28. 

While in Jamaica, the ministerial delegation made courtesy calls on the state ministers Alando Terrelonge and Abka Fitz-Henley. 

Terrelonge welcomed Ambassador Berhanu on his timely visit, as the government of Jamaica is undertaking recovery and rebuilding efforts. The visit, he said, indicated solidarity and commitment by the Ethiopian government to its bilateral partnership with Jamaica, and welcomed the assistance by Ethiopia in helping Jamaica to recover from the economic shock caused by the Hurricane, which the minister said is projected to take the Jamaican economy back some 40 years. Minister Terrelonge also indicated that the physical damage of Hurricane Melissa is an estimated US$8.8 billion. However, the figure is preliminary as further technical evaluations continue.

The importance of the bilateral partnership, Minister Terrelonge said, is also reflected in the discussions taking place at the multilateral level and in the discussions of shared global challenges such as climate change action and disaster risk management in the UN Group of 77 (G77).

Fitz-Henley, who also received Ambassador Berhanu at Jamaica House, expressed gratitude for the presence of the government of Ethiopia on the ground in Jamaica so soon after the Hurricane’s impact. The visit, the minister stated, demonstrates the strong heritage and cultural ties between the two countries, which he said will become even stronger after this shared effort. Minister Fitz-Henley stated that Jamaicans consider Ethiopia as a motherland and that he commended PM Abiy Ahmed for offering to assist Jamaica’s recovery efforts following Hurricane Melissa. 

Ambassador Berhanu expressed gratitude for the warm welcome and said that the visit was timely and intended to show solidarity with the people and government of Jamaica, and to strengthen the existing bond between the two nations. The minister expressed sympathy for the lives lost and the damage caused by Hurricane Melisa. He assured that the Ethiopian government is committed to assisting in the rebuilding effort and that concrete projects and programs will result from the visit to aid Jamaica’s reconstruction. 

Ambassador Berhanu spoke of the importance of the climate challenge and Ethiopia’s commitment to sustainable environmental action, and explained that Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Initiative, championed by Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed, aims to combat climate change, and that to date, some 48 billion trees have been planted in Ethiopia. This initiative he offered is a remarkable success, and Ethiopia will host the UN Climate Summit COP32 in 2027, with the strong backing from the African group. 

The delegation also travelled to the hard-hit parishes of St Elizabeth and Westmoreland, where they surveyed the damage to properties, homes and businesses. They saw first-hand theextensive damage to infrastructure, homes, roads, power and communication lines, hospitals, schools, as well as government offices caused by the hurricane in the two parishes visited. Included in the on-the-ground assessment by the delegation was damage done to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo church in Savanna-La-Mar, which was severely damaged by the Hurricane. 

Ambassador Berhanu declared after witnessing the damage that “it was very devastating to see our Jamaican brothers and sisters be impacted and have their livelihoods disturbed. Ethiopia is committed to providing sustained assistance as Jamaica works tirelessly to restore normalcy. You will hear more from us as we continue this important effort in solidarity with the resilient people of Jamaica and their government.”  

Before departing from Jamaica, the delegation visited the Bob Marley Museum and had time for a brief tour of Kingston, and left after declaring their love for Jamaica and its people. 

The visit of the Ethiopian delegation was organised by the Office of the Prime Minister through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade and the Honorary Consul of Ethiopia to Jamaica, Yodit Hylton.