Self-driving Ethiopia PM grants 'crisp interview' ahead of Nobel ceremony

Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will not speak to the press when he arrives in Oslo Norway this week to receive the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Award.

But Abiy on Saturday granted an unscheduled interview to a German journalist, Markus Preiss, who was in town with the new head of the European Union Commission.

The interview was on the streets of Addis Ababa with the Prime Minister seated behind the wheel of a car with a fellow passenger and the journalist posing questions from outside.

“We were only filming in the streets of Addis – when a car stopped: How I met Nobel Peace Prize winner Abiy Ahmed,” the journalist wrote. The interaction went as follows:

Markus: You are driving yourself?
Abiy: There is no interview, I’m just saying how are you guys doing?

Journalist: Good, how did you find the first visit (of the EU delegation) today?
Abiy: Great, amazing, she is a real change maker, we are so happy that she decided to come here first and I hope we will work a very good job with (the) European Union. With the new vibe, with the new leadership we are so happy and grateful.

Journalist: It’s great to see you.
Abiy: Great to see you too.Enjoy, enjoy your filming.

Journalist: Good luck in Oslo.
Abiy: After tomorrow, yes, I will be there.

Journalist: Congratulations.
Abiy: Thank you very much.

It is not the first time Abiy is filmed driving himself. He has in the past driven guests who came to Ethiopia. A typical case in point was the United Arab Emirates Crown Prince in 2018.

When the EU Commission chief was also in Addis Ababa, Abiy took the initiative of driving her around town. Earlier this year whiles on a trip to Eritrea, he actually drove his host President Isaias Afwerki around in Asmara.

On other driving duties, Abiy was behind the wheel of a water tanker late Sunday afternoon watering trees that Ethiopians had planted in a yet-to-be certified world record move earlier this year.