More important, Meles put Addis Ababa on the map as the home of the African Union, and as a capital where Africa’s worst problems could be discussed in a pragmatic manner, unburdened by colonial grudges. Meles himself became a major diplomatic player, particularly over climate-change policy, and most recently was active in mediating border and natural-resource disputes between Sudan and the newly independent (and oil-rich) South Sudan.
更重要的是，泽纳维让亚的斯亚贝巴成为非洲联盟的总部，该市也成为能够务实讨论非洲最严重问题的非洲之都。泽纳维本人也在外交舞台上长袖善舞，特别是在气候变化问题上，最近，他还积极地为斡旋苏丹和新独立的（富油的）南苏丹之间边境和自然资源之争奔走。他将因在1993年痛苦地接受厄立特里亚独立而不是延长了内战时间而被人铭记，也将因与埃及达成了如何使用青尼罗河河水的协议而被人铭记。