The Ethiopian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mustafe Dek Abdisalam has said his country’s renaissance could be achieved through global partnerships and the promotion of peace and democracy.
By Byron Mutingwende
Abdisalam was speaking at the occasion to celebrate the 26th Anniversary of the National Ethiopian Day held in Harare on Tuesday 6 June 2017, Gienbot 20, which falls on the 28th of May.
Ethiopia is one of the states known as pioneers of civilization since it was never colonized by external powers and served as an inspirational icon of liberty and sovereignty for other subjugated people.
That was changed by regimes that focused on serving their self-interests and those of the ruling elite, leading to a protracted civil war, bloodshed and strife. The country’s human and economic resources were all directed towards the war leading to extreme poverty and backwardness.
“Today, our nation is stronger than ever and our future is brighter than any time. Ethiopia has become a development model that other countries desire to learn from.
“Ethiopia has a bold vision to become prosperous, just and democratic country with an industrialised economy, healthy and empowered citizens. Over the past decade, our economy was growing at a rate of more than 10% annually, making our country one of the top five growing economies in the world,” Abdisalam said.
He said such growth was made possible because of the resilience of the Ethiopian people and the right policies and strategies implemented by the government.
As a result, the country reduced poverty to half of what it had been a decade ago, primary education and access to health coverage is almost 100%. The country has transformed its infrastructure, and enhanced connectivity and power generation capacity through landmark projects like the grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which will make Ethiopia the biggest power producer in Africa.
Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hailed the historic bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and Ethiopia that dates back to the liberation struggle.
“This warm and close relationship has continued up to today and the relation being cemented by the Ethiopian Airlines since 1981 is now expanding its presence to the Addis-Victoria route,” Wutawunashe said.
There are a lot of untapped opportunities, which need the two countries’ joint effort in working together to harness the benefits to the people. Zimbabwe has supported the candidature of Dr. Tedros Adhanom to become the Director-General of the World Health Organisation.
The Ethiopian Ambassador said his country was facing challenges in good governance, implementation capacity and financial resources but praised his government for working to tackle the problems through effective leadership and sound policies.
“The Ethiopian renaissance could be achieved through partnership, by joining hands together, as our fathers did yesterday, by defending the integrity of the country and preserving the sovereignty of our nation. We need every citizen of Ethiopia to help by taking the responsibility to contribute and play his role in the fight against our biggest enemy, the fight against poverty and backwardness,” he said.
