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Fortnightly Newsletter
January 29, 2015
Issue #1
In This Issue Updates From the Embassy in Canberra
Feature Topics
26th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the
African Union (AU) opens in Addis Ababa
African Union and China sign Memorandum of
Understanding in Addis Ababa
Clean Energy Program Launched
Ethiopia, Turkey to strengthen relations
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Contents
26th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union Council Opens in Addis
Ababa......................................................................................................................................................2
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros confers with New Zealand counterpart Mr. Murray
McCully..................................................................................................................................................3
Ethiopian tour guides to provide improved services............................................................................4
AU, China sign MoU AU, China sign MoU ........................................................................................5
Ethiopia, Turkey keen to strengthen their relations ............................................................................6
Ethiopia, Turkey agree to bolster trade relations ................................................................................6
Dr. Tedros holds talks with Philip Hammond, UK Foreign Secretary ...............................................7
Ethiopia, India keen to foster strong partnership ................................................................................8
Dr Tedros meets Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs ...................................................................9
Norway to place Ethiopia among six focus countries for dev’t cooperation ....................................10
Clean energy technology program launched .....................................................................................11
Ethiopia to host Argus FMB Africa Fertilizer 2015 conference ......................................................13
Villagization cannot be carried out without voluntarism: Premier ..................................................13
ADPI to submit report on mega airport project .................................................................................14
Addis Ababa light rail tested .............................................................................................................15
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The 26th Ordinary Session for the
African Union (AU) Executive Council opens in Addis Ababa
The 26th Ordinary Session of the African
Union’s Executive Council (the Foreign
Ministers of the AU) opened this morning,
Monday (January 26) at the African Union
Headquarters. The meeting, chaired by Ms.
Fatma Vall Mint Soueinae, Foreign Minister
of the Islamic Republic of Mau ritania and
Chairperson of the Executive Council, was
attended by the foreign ministers of the AU
members states, the Chair of the African
Union Commission, Dr. Dlamini Zuma, UN
Under Secretary-General and Executive
Secretary of the UNECA, Carlos Lopez,
Deputy Chairperson of the AU, Erastus
Mwencha and representatives of the AU
organs and leaders of the Regional Economic
Commissions.
The theme of the Summit is: “Year of Women
Empowerment and Development towards
Africa’s Agenda 2063”. Dr Dlamini Zuma,
Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
introduced the Annual Report on the activities
of the Commission in 2014 to the Council. The
Report highlighted the work of the
Commission on Agenda 2063 which is being
presented to the Summit for adoption and the
work in progress with regard to the first
Agenda 2063 10-year plan which is intended
for adoption at the June Summit this year. Dr.
Zuma said integration remained central to the
continental vision, noting that initiatives to
accelerate infrastructure development and
agreements to implement free trade zones
were encouraging. She said the Commission
would present a comprehensive report on the
State of Integration in the context of Agenda
2063 to the June summit.
The upcoming meeting of the Ministers of
Economy and Finance in March would look at
funding for Agenda 2063 and later in the year
Ethiopia would host the global conference on
development financing. Dr. Zuma spoke of the
need to silence the guns and neutralize the
threats of terrorism, intolerance and extremism,
as well as the risk of slow movement on
integration, infrastructure and the
diversification of economies and the largest
risk: failure to finance development, adding
“we must go the next step to plan what to do to
mitigate these risks.” She said Africa “must do
more and better for African youth,” including
increasing investment in education in science
and technology, skills development through
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vocational training, and better treatment of
teachers, and lowering the cost of access to
internet service. These would be the way to
tackle the problem of African youth migration
and trafficking, and falling prey to extremism.
The Chairperson said the AU efforts for peace,
stability and the consolidation of democracy
and good governance were paying off and the
African Peace and Security Architecture meant
situations could be addressed before they
became entrenched. She called for immediate
and collective action against Boko Haram,
adding “we must work diligently towards
silencing the guns by the year 2020, and nip in
the bud this threat to African prosperity, peace
and human security.” She expressed “deep
appreciation to our peacekeepers” and called
for “a monument for our AU peacekeepers that
have lost their lives in the duty of the peoples
of the continent.” She said the collective fight
against the Ebola Virus Disease was showing
results in response to the call for African
health workers to be deployed in the three
Ebola-affected countries and paid tribute to the
volunteers and others involved. Dr. Zuma
underlined the importance of the theme- the
Year of Women’s Empowerment and
Development towards Agenda 2063 – and said
firmly “we must also do more this year to
increase the representation of women in
government, in the judiciary and other public
and private institutions and their participation
at the tables in peace negotiations.”
She also stressed the importance of a common
African position in the global negotiations on
the post-2015 agenda, on climate change and
sustainable development goals. UN Under
Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of
the UNECA, Carlos Lopez stressed that
agriculture could and should play in pushing
forward the industrialization of Africa, noting
that while “the world is slowing down. Africa,
fortunately, is not.” He said that in the past
year Africa had shown itself an epicenter of
investment adding that markets needed to
expand with a view to sustain growth. Mr.
Lopez also reminded the meeting that the
continent had two years to go before 2017, the
establishment of the continental free trade
agreement, which, he said, would “represent a
fundamental change for current and future
generations.”
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Dr. Tedros Confers with New
Zealand Counterpart
Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Dr. Tedros
conferred his New Zealand counterpart Mr.
Murray McCully and discussed about the
upcoming 24th African Union Summit and
bilateral matters including trade and
investment. Dr. Tedros hailed New Zealand’s
uninterrupted engagement with AU and
Ethiopia and appreciated its offer to be at the
supporting end on African issues. Dr Tedros
underlined the importance of sustaining the
support the Government of New Zealand to
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Ethiopia particularly in the fields of
agriculture, Education, renewable energy. He
also highlighted the need to put in to action the
agreement signed on promoting partnership in
Food Security as part of the Clinton Health
Access Initiative (CHAI’s) activities to combat
malnutrition in Ethiopia and to provide
scholarship to Ethiopian students studying
Agriculture. Noting that Ethiopia has a great
potential in Agriculture and agro processing,
Dr. Tedros said that New Zealand’s vast
experience in the area can help a lot in the
development of the sector. He added that
Government will provide the necessary
support to investors interested in agriculture
and agro processing .He hailed that New
Zealand’s leading multinational dairy
company Fonterra’s operating in Ethiopia.
Mr. McCully also expressed his Government’s
readiness to encourage other investors to come
and invest in Ethiopia and as well continue
supporting Ethiopia’s effort in the renewable
energy sector especially in geothermal energy
generation. During the discussion, Dr. Tedros
remembered, New Zealand’ s anti-colonial
policy citing that it was one of the five
countries who opposed Italian Fascist invasion
and occupation of Ethiopia in the League of
Nations in 1937.New Zealand and Ethiopia
have enjoyed a long friendly and mutually
relation. New Zealand opened it embassy in
Addis Ababa in June 2013.
Ethiopian Tourist Guides to
Provide
Improved Services
Activities are underway at the federal and
regional level to assess the level, capacity and
skill of practitioners so as to decide what
interventions are needed to support the sector
in this regard, Catering and Tourism Training
Institute Deputy Director Dawit Hailu
explained. “Knowledge based tour guides
arehighly needed to spread the factual historic,
cultural and religious background of the
country to the rest of the world”, he said.
Tourist flow has been increasing by 10 to 12
percent every year. Last year 724,000 tourists,
most of them from the Americas, UK
Germany, Kenya, China, India, Italy and Saudi
Arabia visited Ethiopia, earning 2 billion
USD. Ethiopia expects 1 million tourist
visitors to generate 3 billion USD this fiscal
year. According to Gezahegn Abate, PR Head
at the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, this is
an outcome of achievements the nation has
registered in various areas. Economic
performance, peace and stability as well as
better promotion of tourist heritages contribute
to the development, he added.
In spite of civil war and terrorist activities in
the East African region, Ethiopia preserves its
peace and security, and strives to bring peace
to the area. Activities aimed at increasing
tourist flow as well as increased length of
tourist visits are among the activities being
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News from the Embassy Issue #1
exerted in the country, which is home to nine
inscribed world heritage sites. Producing
skilled practitioners, improving infrastructure
such as accommodation and transportation, as
well as preserving and promoting the heritages
are underway as part of the efforts to enhance
the development of the sector.
AU, China sign MoU AU, China sign MoU
Addis Ababa, 28 January 2015 (WIC) - The Africa
Union (AU) and the Chinese Government
signed a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) on an open cooperation within the
framework of Agenda 2063 here yesterday.
Africa Union Commission Chairperson Dr.
Nkossazana Dilamini Zuma and Special
Envoy of the Chinese Government and Vice
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Zhang Ming
signed the MoU.
On the occasion Zuma said: “It is to be
recalled that we had a very high level visit
from the Peoples Republic of China by the
Premier last year. It was in that meeting that
we discussed what we think is important for
Africa to attain its vision and objective of a
prosperous, united and peaceful Africa guided
by its own people."
"Among other things, we discussed that we
could cooperate with China on a number of
areas at continental level and those were
mainly around infrastructure,” Zuma said.
She said that both have worked together on
those issues between then and now, and they
have come up with this MoU that covers high-
speed railways, highways, aviation and
industrialization.
“So, we think that this MoU is really the first
that we are signing on the basis of Agenda
2063. We are looking at it as a long term
project; and we are looking at it as a project
that will benefit both the People's of Africa
and China. It will also accelerate our
integration,” Zuma added. Mr. Zhang on his
part said that he believes this document can be
called the document of the century.
“After in depth study carried out by the two
sides, today, we have signed the MoU to
construct the three major networks and the
industrialization process,” Zhang said.
He stressed that it is a grand and ambitious but
feasible project.
The cooperation agreement with regard to the
project is said to be a long-term plan but it is
not yet known how much it costs in terms of
money and which countries of the continent
will be the first beneficiaries.
Zuma said that teams and sub-committees
have been set up to study the ways of
implementing the projects, the amount of
budget they cost and the ways and means of
raising funds. (EH)
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Ethiopia, Turkey keen to strengthen their relations
Addis Ababa, January 22, 2015 (WIC) - Ethiopia
and Turkey express their keenness to
strengthen their relations having bolster their
existing socio-economic and strategic
relations, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan
said.
Speaking at the Ethio-Turkish Business
Forum held in Sheraton Hotel
today, he remarked the need to strengthen
the cultural and historical relations of the two
nations.
Ethiopia has become an outstanding country in
Africa in economic growth, thepresident
said, adding that the abundant human and
natural resources of the country coupled with
its stability and market accessibility make
Ethiopia the best destination for Turkey.
Turkey has tremendous experiences in
International Trade and Ethiopia is a
prominent centre of Africa so that the two
countries could effectively benefit
from their trade and investment relations.
Ethio-Turkey relation has transformed from
cooperation in to partnership within few
years, he said.
According to the president, Turkey is needs to
maximize its investment in the agro-
processing, hydroelectric dam constructions,
geothermal energy, banking services, cotton
development and cattle breeding sectors.
Prime Minister Haile Mariam Desalegn on the
occasion said that the relationship between the
two countries is laid on the basis of mutual
benefits.
PM Hailemariam also praised
president Erdogan for playing a leading role
in strengthening partnership.
According to Hailemariam Ethiopia
has untapped opportunities to
cooperate with Turkey in different trade
and investment
sectors, the double digit economic growth of
the country is contributing for the
steady transformation of the agrarian
economy to manufacturing economy.
Ethiopia is highly investing to build Industry
Parks across the country with complete
accommodation of facilities and
infrastructures to boost the revenue from
export trade, he added.
According to president Erdogan, the African
Turkey trade relations raised from 4 Billion
USD in 2003 to 25 Billion in 2013.
Ethiopia, Turkey agree to bolster trade relations
Addis Ababa, 22 January 2015 (WIC) -
Ethiopia and Turkey agreed to bolster their
trade relation to half a billion dollars annually.
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Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and the
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
discussed bilateral and multilateral issues in
the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa today.
According to FBC, Ethiopia and Turkey
signed a cooperation protocol on the areas of
science and technology.
In a press briefing, the Turkish leader noted
Turkey and Ethiopia will work towards
making Nejashi Mosque a top tourist
destination.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in
Addis Ababa, late on Wednesday (January 21)
on the first stage of an official visit to
countries in the Horn of Africa.
President Erdogan is accompanied by his wife
and daughter, Emine and Summeye Erdogan,
as well as ministers including Deputy Prime
Minister Numan Kurtuand, a delegation of
officials and businessmen.
Dr. Tedros holds talks with Philip Hammond, UK Foreign Secretary
Addis Ababa, 24 September 2014 (WIC) - Foreign
Affairs Minister, Dr. Tedros Adhanom met with
Philip Hammond, UK Secretary of State for Foreign
and Commonwealth Affairs on the margins
of the General Assembly in New York on
Monday,(September 22), to exchange views
on issues of common interest in bilateral,
regional and global matters.
Dr. Tedros, who welcomed the UK's support
for Ethiopia's development activities and for
peace and security of the region, briefed
Hammond on the progress in Somalia
describing the political process including the
establishment of local administrations to
deliver services and undertake development
activities, to develop trust and confidence.
He said the coordination between AMISOM
and SNA has made it possible for the army
to gain grounds dislodging Al Shabab from a
number of areas.
He also noted that the drought in Somalia,
affecting more than a million people, needed
to be addressed immediately.
Dr. Tedros, acknowledging the role of
international partners, stressed the
importance of a cessation of hostilities in
South Sudan.
He said the current phase of mediation in
Bahr Dar was making progress. Dr. Tedros
also detailed Ethiopia's socio-economic
development activities and achievements,
and explained Ethiopia's political and
democratization processes.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Dr Tedros expressed the Government’s
readiness to work with legal opposition
parties and those who commit to non-violent
political engagement as well as the
furtherance of national interest.
He pointed out the rights to free speech and
expressions were fully protected, and the
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Government was working hard to make the
up-coming elections free, fair and
democratic.
Hammond appreciated the candid discussion
they had and said he believed Ethiopia could
be a role model in development, peace and
stability and for democratization in the
region.
He thanked Ethiopia for the role it has been
playing in stabilizing the region particularly
in Somalia and South Sudan and described it
as a strategic partner in development
activities as well as combating terrorism
Ethiopia, India keen to foster strong partnership
Addis Ababa, 28 January 2015 (WIC) -
On the margins of the of the 26th Ordinary
Session of the Executive Council of the
African Union, Foreign Affairs Minister Dr.
Tedros Adhanom met with India’s ice
Foreign Minister, Navtej Sarna on Tuesday
(January 27).
The two Ministers discussion covered India-
Africa partnership and on the cooperation of
the two countries on bilateral and global
issues of mutual concern.
On the occasion, Dr Tedros noted that
Ethiopia and India have enjoyed long
standing genuine and cordial relations.
Dr Tedros further noted that strong
cooperation on education served both
countries as building block towards mutually
cooperative partnership.
The Foreign Minister underlined Ethiopia’s
keenness to encourage Indian investors and
business persons’ involvement in various
investment sectors and noted the importance
of organizing business forums to promote
investment opportunities and create
linkages among businesses of the two
countries.
He also underscored the need to expand
trade and increase trade volume which
currently stands one billion USD.
Navtej Sarna described the smooth Ethio-
India bilateral relations as cordial;
constructive noting that the ties featured
string cooperation of capacity building
especially in terms of human development.
The Minister also said that India is
appreciative of Ethiopia’s vibrant economic
development, stressing the importance of
taking the partnership into a higher level to
achieve the common development of the two
nations.
Foreign Minister Navtej Sarna further
suggested the need to deepen and strengthen
partnership with Ethiopia in numerous areas
including security, space science, railway, as
well as broadening cooperation in the area of
education.
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Both Ministers agreed to make the existing
relations stronger and more comprehensive
on the proposed fields of cooperation.
They also reached a consensus to reactivate
the Ethio-India Joint Ministerial
Commission in a bid to review all areas of
cooperation, identify the challenges and
devise ways to tackle the same.
According to MoFA, they also exchanged
views on the contributions of the India-
Africa Summit in fostering cooperation
between the two countries.
Dr Tedros meets Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs
Addis Ababa, 28 January 2015 (WIC) –
Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Tedros
Adhanom held talks with the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Martin
Lidegaard, on Monday (January 26) on the
sidelines of the 26th Ordinary Session of the
Executive Council of the African Union.
The discussions covered bilateral and
multilateral issues of common interest.
Dr Tedros expressed his thanks to the
Government of Denmark for hosting the
successful High Level Ministerial
Partnership Forum on Somalia held in
Copenhagen in November last year.
He said this had laid the foundation for the
successful conclusion of the IGAD Council
of Ministers in Mogadishu earlier this month.
They shared ideas on Sustainable
Development Goals and climate diplomacy,
and Dr. Tedros, who welcomed Denmark’s
support for mitigating climate change,
reiterated Ethiopia’s keenness to work with
Denmark in cooperation in green
development and agro-processing.
He emphasized that Ethiopia was
determined to become a carbon neutral,
middle income and climate resilient
economy by 2025, and said it would
welcome Danish investors and business
involvement in Ethiopia’s trade priorities.
Ethiopia, he said, considered them as
builders and promoters of Ethiopia-Denmark
relations and this would open new avenues
for further strengthening of Ethio-Danish
relations.
Foreign Minister Martin Lidgaard said
Denmark valued its links with Ethiopia and
said it considered Ethiopia as a stable and
peaceful partner in the region.
It had become, he said, an exemplary model
of progress, adding that it had provided
remarkable contributions to regional peace
and stability. The two Ministers also
discussed the threat of radicalization and its
ramifications on national, regional and
global policies.
Dr Tedros noted that the fight against
radicalization needed a coordinated,
comprehensive and forward-looking
regional and global approach that embraced
the acceleration of economic and social
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development, the creation of job
opportunities and the promotion of a culture
of tolerance and harmony as well as
improvements in good governance,
democracy and human rights.
This, he said, would help to dry up the
breeding ground for radicalization and
undermine youth vulnerability to this threat.
The Ministers agreed on the need to prevent
the scourge of radicalization and advance the
cause of peace and stability.
Dr Tedros, who noted that Ethiopia’s
regional diplomacy placed emphasis on
collective security, stressed that this concept
attached special importance to dialogue to
resolve differences including Eritrea.
This, he said, could have opened a
possibility for normalization of relations and
advance of regional integration for the
betterment of both peoples. However, to
dismay of Ethiopia, this could not be
realized due to the intransigence of the
Eritrean Government.
He went on to note that the regime in
Asmara continued to host, finance and help
rebel groups as part of its regional
destabilization objectives. It was also using
rebel groups as a conduit for financing Al-
Shabaab militants in Somalia.
These moves, said Dr. Tedros, made it clear
the regime in Asmara was still showing no
behavioral change in foreign policy.
He emphasized the need for the international
community to take measures to put an end to
such negative activities and fully implement
the sanctions imposed on Eritrea by the UN
Security Council. (MoFA)
Norway to place Ethiopia among six focus countries for dev’t cooperation
Addis Ababa, 26 January 2015 (WIC) -
Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Tedros
Adhanom received on Sunday (January 25) a
Norwegian delegation led by Foreign
Minister, Borge Brende.
The bilateral discussions of the two Foreign
Ministers dwelt on numerous issues of
common interest. Both Ministers exchanged
views on the promotion of Ethio-Norway
partnership and expanding the depth, breadth
and scale of the relations of the two friendly
countries.
Dr Tedros gave a briefing on Ethiopia’s
renaissance journey, the ongoing IGAD-led
peace talks as well as IGAD’s role in
supporting the South Sudanese warring
parties end conflict and advance the cause of
peace and stability. Dr. Tedros noted that
Ethiopia will remain committed to
advancing peace and stability in the region
and attaches special importance to dialogue
to resolve disputes.
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He also recalled the successful conclusion of
the 53rd Extraordinary Meeting of the IGAD
Council of Ministers held in Mogadishu on
January 10, adding that the very fact that
meeting was held in Mogadishu tells a lot
about the improving security situation in
Somalia.
Foreign Minister Borge Brende on his part
noted that his visit to Addis Ababa is a
demonstration of Norway’s commitment for
the further strengthening of the bilateral ties
with Ethiopia.
He also underscored that Norway stood
committed to step up its cooperation with
Ethiopia. The Foreign Minister underlined
the need for further consolidation of the
bilateral partnership of the two countries.
Borge Brende noted that Norway’s Foreign
Affairs Ministry is prposing placing Ethiopia
among the six focus countries for
development cooperation program.
Dr Tedros expressed his gratitude to
Norwegian Foreign Affairs Ministry’s
decision to make Ethiopia as one of the six
priority countries in the country’s
development cooperation program. This, he
said, would help Ethiopia’s efforts to realize
a carbon-free middle- income country status
by 2025.
Both sides reached a consensus in jointly
pushing cooperation forward in many areas
including climate change, education, private
sector engagement, trade and investment.
(MoFA)
Clean energy technology program launched
Addis Ababa, 27 January 2015 (WIC) -
Low Emission Low Carbon Transfer (LCET)
Program that enhances and promotes Ultra-
Low Head Micro Hydro Power (ULH-MHP)
technologies for productive uses in Ethiopia
was launched last Saturday at Adama Town.
Officially launching the pilot program that
will be implemented at Fentale Wereda,
Oromia Regional State, Alemayehu Tegenu
Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE)
Minister said the emphasis on developing
the nation's renewable source of energy is
one of the major targets of the country.
According to him, the overriding
development agenda of the country is to
sustain rapid and broad based economic
progress. In this regard, significant results
are being registered.
During the GTP II emphasis will be given to
the utilization of improved technologies that
speed up environmental friendly
technological transformation, he said.
Alemayehu further noted that, using
progressive and sustainable environmentally
friendly technologies, the country aspires to
register remarkable economic growth thus
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marching to make poverty history, the
Minister added.
According to him, access to social services
has increased and the level of poverty is
diminishing from time to time. Besides
expanding rural electrification, technologies
like Ultra-Low Head Micro Hydro Power
are significant to increase agricultural
productivity, job creation and create value
chain among different economic sectors.
Alemayehu also said in an effort to achieve
economic progress the United Nations
Industrial Development Organization,
UNIDO, is contributing a lot to the industrial
development of Ethiopia.
Speaking on his part, Kazuhiro Suzuki,
Ambassador of Japan to Ethiopia stated that,
Japan is working hard to improve the energy
situation in Ethiopia through various
schemes.
According to Suzuki, as part of its scheme
Japan is providing support to Ethiopia in the
field of climate change through formulation
of plans related to water supply and
resources, as well as through projects aimed
to improve water supply, hygiene, and
livelihoods in rural areas.
He also said that “Japan is working hard to
improve the energy situation in Ethiopia.
This will be accomplished in the future by
joint efforts of both private and public
sectors, including Small and Medium
Enterprises (SMEs), so that Japan as a whole,
can tackle various challenges associated
with developing and implementing a new
technology hand in hand with Ethiopia, for
the sake of global environmental
conservation.”
Suzuki said, Ethiopia is the first among
African countries that signed a bilateral
document with Japan on the Joint Crediting
Mechanisms (JCM), which enhances the
reduction of carbon emission.
The UNIDO Project in Fentale has been
implemented to formulate specific projects
under JCM, he said.
Acknowledging Ethiopian economic
progress, Jean Bagambanya Bakole, UNIDO
Representative and Director of Regional
Office in Ethiopia said that UNIDO is glad
to be associated with the process of
Ethiopia’s transformation which is indeed an
African home grown development success
story.
Oromia Water Mineral and Energy Bureau
Head Motuma Mekasa, said at the event that,
in addition to increasing agricultural
produces, when the project is implemented,
it will open another window of hope to
access modern and clean energy.
“This will definitely improve the life of the
population. When scaled up, it will improve
the life of millions who live far from the
Grid,” Motuma said.
Enhancing local capacity and promoting
ultra-low head micro hydro power
technologies for productive uses in Ethiopia
Project is a program funded by through the
technical cooperation of UNIDO. (EH)
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Ethiopia to host Argus FMB Africa Fertilizer 2015 conference
Addis Ababa, 28 January 2015 (WIC) -
The Argus FMB Africa Fertilizer 2015
conference will be held on 18-20 February
2015 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Ministry
of Agriculture (MoA) said.
According to a statement MoA sent to WIC
today, the conference is expected to attract
400 attendees from 60 countries, including
heads of 70 fertilizer companies, agriculture
and research centers.
Moreover, producers, traders, policy and
financial advisers and distributors
throughout Africa and beyond are also
participants of the conference, it said.
Some seven research papers will be
presented from the Ethiopian side at the
event, the statement added.
On February 17, participants of the
conference will visit Ethiopia's first ever
fertilizer blending facility at Tullu Bollo,
Oromia Regional State, it was learnt.
Villagization cannot be carried out without voluntarism: Premier
Addis Ababa, 28 January 2015 (WIC) -
Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn said
that the Villagization Program that has been
implemented in the pastoral areas is carried
out only with the free will of the pastoralists.
At the celebration of the 15th Ethiopian
Pastoralists Day in the Semera town in Afar
State, the Prime Minister said that the
objective of the Villagization Program is to
provide the necessary infrastructure such as
schools and health facilities for the
communities and to provide food stalk and
water for the cattle. In addition to that,
pastoralists are induced to practice sedentary
farming thus changing their way of life in a
gradual manner.
Hailemariam said the government rural
development policy assumes pastoralist
areas as a source of cattle wealth, and to tap
the resources, watershed management has
been implemented. With that, the natural
resources could be recovered and
strengthened attaining good results. More
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design work particularly in Afar and Somali
States are underway.
Furthermore, through the Watershed
Management Programme large scale
irrigation farms have been established and
many pastoralists have benefited from such
development.
According to Hailemariam, currently many
pastoralists have achieved a higher
economic status by supplying pulses to the
market. Side by side, the implementation of
the MDG is also well underway.
The Premier said the Villagization Program
was never implemented forcefully and this
indicates how pastoralists play a crucial role
in their own affairs.
However, Hailemariam added that some
Western media and so called human rights
groups have been making accusations
against the Ethiopian Government alleging
that the Villagization Program was
implemented in disregard of the will of the
pastoralist communities. He hence warned
them not to meddle in the internal affairs of
the nation.
On another development, the renowned
expert on pastoralists affairs, Ato Sora Adi
who has served as advisor to many non-
governmental organizations said no
pastoralist wants to move from place to
place for the sake of seeking water and
animal feed stalk unless the situation forces
them to do so, and the government
Villagization Program is acceptable by
pastoralists.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian
Herald, Sora said that the availability of
basic necessities in the pastoralists areas
stabilizes the living condition of the people
and the expansion of education thereby
promoting human development.
Sora further said that the implementation of
Villagization with sufficient preparation
could also reduce the vulnerability of the
pastoralist community to drought and
climate change, and the Program by itself is
an adaptation mechanism. (EH)
ADPI to submit report on mega airport project
Bole International Airport expansion
17 January 2015 Written by Kaleyesus Bekele
The French consulting firm, ADPI, will
submit its preliminary report on the
development of the new mega
international airport project that the
Ethiopian Airports Enterprise (EAE) is
planning to build outside Addis Ababa.
ADPI launched the study on site location
last September. A senior official at the
Ethiopian Airports Enterprise told The
Reporter that ADPI is finalizing the
preliminary report adding that it will submit
the report to the enterprise next month.
EAE is planning to build a new mega
international airport outside Addis Ababa.
Dukem, Modjo and Teji towns are proposed
for the building of the new international
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News from the Embassy Issue #1
airport. A decision has not yet been made.
The enterprise is also expanding the Addis
Ababa Bole International Airport passenger
terminal at a cost of 250 million dollars.
Last July the enterprise hired ADPI which is
tasked to supervise the construction of the
Addis Ababa Bole International Airport
passenger terminal and undertake a study on
the new international airport. The second
task includes conducting a study on the site
location for the new international airport.
The consultant will also undertake feasibility,
technical, and financial studies as well as
drafts airport master plan. The consultant is
also tasked to study the integration of the
new airport with the Addis Ababa Bole
International Airport.
The Ethiopian Airports Enterprise has
embarked on the construction of the Addis
Ababa Bole International Airport passenger
terminal expansion work. ADPI deployed
two groups in Ethiopia. The first group is
supervising the Bole expansion project while
the second group is undertaking a study on
the planned international airport.
The official said, based on ADPI’s
recommendation, a decision will be made on
the site for the construction of the mega hub.
Sources close to the project told The
Reporter that it is the Mojo site that will be
selected for the construction of the mega hub
because of the well developed infrastructure
and the low altitude of the location
compared to Addis Ababa.
“The only problem with the Mojo site its
proximity to the Ethiopian Air Force main
base,” the source said. A joint committee
drawn from the EAE and Ethiopian Air
force is working on the site location, the
source added.
Though the Ethiopian Airports Enterprise is
building new airports and upgrading the
existing ones the airports with hundreds of
millions of birr, they are not generating
revenue. It is only the Addis Ababa Bole
International Airport that operates with a
breakeven. The other airports in the regional
states generate little or no income at all.
Most of the airports in the regions
accommodate only one aircraft per day.
EAE has hired an international consulting
firm to examine the possibilities that all the
airports could generate better revenues. The
global consultancy firm, Grant Thornton, is
currently working on the study. EAE has
also hired Ernst & Young to implement a
new computerized system at a cost of 46
million birr.
Addis Ababa Light Train Tested
The electro mechanical portion of the Addis
Ababa light railway project is in the process
of testing.
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Fertilizer Factory
Construction Resumes
Yayu is a multi-complex of industries that
will have two Urea and one DAP fertilizer
manufacturing plants, a coal mining plant
and a chemical manufacturing plant that
will manufacture chemical inputs for the
fertilizer factories, two Urea manufacturing
plants, one DAP manufacturing plant, a coal
mining and chemical manufacturing.