Water ministers of Egypt and Sudan confirmed that the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project is progressing well. Ministers of the three countries of Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan together paid a visit to the GERD project on Sunday.

Visiting the project, Egypt’s Water and Irrigation Minister, Hossam Moghazi, said the dam should not be a source of argument or quarrel; it should rather be a means of collaboration.

He expressed admiration for the Ethiopian Government for being open and letting him visit the project.

Appreciating the engineering quality of the dam, Sudanese Minister of Water Resource and Electricity, Mutaz Musa Abdalla Salim for his part said the region is coming to understand the multiple benefits of the dam and is looking forward to the ongoing Tripartite Discussions between the three countries.

The ministers will be sitting for extra discussions on Monday.

Addis Ababa, 22 September 2014 (WIC) – Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Tedros Adhanom said that Ethiopia is on track to eliminate poverty and become a middle income country by 2025.

Dr Tedros made the remark at the second Frontiers in Development Forum held in Ronald Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC, from September 18-19, 2014.

The Forum organized by USAID brought together leaders and development practitioners to address the question: How will we eradicate extreme poverty by 2030?

At the Forum, Dr Tedros highlighted Ethiopia’s development policies and strategies to promote rapid, broad-based and equitable growth as well as its target of reaching a middle income country.

“Ethiopia is on track to eliminate poverty and become a middle income country by 2025,” said Dr Tedros during his keynote address at the Forum.

He also said that the country is on track to achieve MDGs of social sectors: education and health, which are key in the fight against poverty.

Dr Tedros also explained Ethiopia’s focus on small holding farmers in rural areas and on micro and small enterprises in urban areas to create millions of jobs annually.

He also told participants about the importance of gender equality, good governance and democracy in conjunction with fighting poverty that are key to peace and prosperity of the country.

Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Tedros also met with USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah and discussed on food security and Ebola, a disease which has become a serious cause for concern to the world.

Dr Tedros assured him Ethiopia’s readiness to help in the fight against the disease.

He agreed to host regional meeting in Addis Ababa to share experience on food security among African countries.

U.S Secretary of State John Kerry on the occasion reiterated US Government’s commitment to end poverty and announced $63 million PEPFAR initiative led by USAID to mobilize domestic resources.

Addis Ababa, 22 September 2014 (WIC) – Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s largest carrier by revenue, agreed to buy 20 redesigned 737 models valued at $2.1 billion in the largest single order for Boeing (BA) Co. planes from the continent.

The order for the single-aisle Max 8, the first of four redesigned 737 models, comes with an option for an additional 15 planes, the companies said today in a statement.

The Boeing model will be a key component of the Addis Ababa-based carrier’s 15-year plan to expand its business to carry 18 million passengers a year, Ethiopian Airlines Chief Executive Officer Tewolde Gebremariam said during a tourism forum in Chicago.

“The African market has had a lot of great potential, but service has been a problem,” Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace consultant with Fairfax, Virginia-based Teal Group, said in a telephone interview from Washington.

“There are strong signs of improvement, led by Ethiopian and other airlines. This order shows a commitment to operate the most modern jets on domestic and intra-African routes.”

The order had been announced previously on Boeing’s orders and deliveries website, without identifying the airline.

Boeing’s Max 8 is due to enter service in 2017 and is being outfitted with new engines from a General Electric Co. joint venture.

Ryanair Holdings Plc (RYA) announced earlier this month that it would buy as many as 200 of the higher-capacity Max 200 model from the Chicago-based plane maker, with deliveries set to begin in 2019. (Bloomberg)

Addis Ababa, 17 September 2014 (WIC) – Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn declared the month of Meskerem (September) to be a month of kaizen to be observed country wide with various programs marked with the specific theme for years to come.

Speaking on the key issues of the 2014 month of kaizen at the first Kaizen council meeting held at his office yesterday, the premier vowed to scale up achievements attained so far in manufacturing and human resource development and to customize and disseminate kaizen to apply to low cost housing, infrastructure, the strategic service sector, in education from kindergarten to higher learning institutions and to institutionalize kaizen training in Regional States.

Kazuhiro Suzuki, Ambassador of Japan to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union, on his part said that Japan is planning to establish human resource development centers in Africa and the KAIZEN activities in Ethiopia are to serve as a model for this center.

Ambassador Suzuki further expressed his wishes that KAIZEN will prove to be a valuable tool by contributing to Ethiopia’s economic growth and that all African countries will incorporate the kaizen philosophy into their countries’ policies in the near future.

In order to achieve this, the Japanese government would like to enhance its cooperation with the Ethiopian government.

Kaizen is a management philosophy. Expanding it into a national policy with people, businesses and organizations from all over the country employing this philosophy may prove to be challenging, but will be well worth the effort, Ambassador Suzuki said, adding that Japan’s expectation for Ethiopia’s future are overwhelmingly positive.

He added that Kaizen’s most important emphasis is on productivity improvement, and this is what Ethiopia needs most from now on. Everyone knows today that Ethiopia is and will continue to be undergoing tremendous economic development.

However, in order to achieve stable and long-term economic growth, constant productivity improvement is indispensable to Ethiopia. From this perspective, the introduction of kaizen is vitally important.

JICA Chief Representative, Kimiaki Jin, presented Kaizen’s role over the next 5 years while JICA Chief Advisor of the Ethiopian Kaizen project assessed the dissemination of Kaizen in Ethiopia.

The focus of Japanese assistance towards Africa is human resource development. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reaffirmed this point during his speech at AU Headquarters this January

Addis Ababa, 13 September 2014 (WIC) – The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) held its first regular meeting since the Bank returned to its statutory headquarters in Abidjan on 8 September and approved a combined $256 million for the financing of investments in Nigeria and Ethiopia as well as a multinational projects preparation facility.

A $150 million senior loan will go to Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise for the construction of a Greenfield seaport in the Lagos Free Trade Zone, about 60 kilometres east of Lagos.

Upon completion the port is expected to handle 16.7 million tonnes of liquid cargo and 4.5 million tonnes of dry bulk. Construction is expected to begin in January 2015, with container terminal operations expected in December 2018.

The project, estimated at $1.675 billion, will be financed through a 54/46 debt to equity ratio
AfDB said in a statement that it is aligned with the Bank’s Nigeria Country Strategy Paper 2012-2016 which stresses infrastructure development in the non-oil and transport sector.

The Bank will also contribute a $5 million equity investment to the establishment of Kukuza Project Development Company (KPDC), a new firm that would focus on early-stage design and preparation of African infrastructure projects.

The company, which will be responsible for contract and financial arrangements as well as investor marketing, expects to process between two and four new infrastructure projects a year.

KPDC’s initial capitalisation is expected to be $25 million with the five equity shareholders – AfDB, India-based Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IF&LS), Abu Dhabi-based Allied Investment Partners, State Bank of India and India Exim Bank – holding a stake of 20 per cent, 20.5 per cent, 20.5 per cent, 19.5 per cent and 19.5 per cent, respectively.

The AfDB Board also approved a $91.1 million loan for Ethiopia’s One Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Program (OWNP) to provide sustainable water supply and sanitation facilities throughout Ethiopia. Ultimately, the OWNP is estimated to cost $2.4 billion.

Other institutions funding the project include the UK Department for International Development, UNICEF, the World Bank and the Government of Ethiopia. (cpifinancial)

Addis Ababa, 12 September 2014 (WIC) – An Ecuadorian investor said he has begun introducing state-of-the-art technology to the Ethiopian floriculture sector which is suitable to the European flower market.

Owner and General Manager of the Ecuador-based cut flower group Bellaflor, Mauricio Castillo, said that besides its proximity to the European market, the lower transportation cost for flowers has made Ethiopia a preferred market.

Castillo said the Bellaflor group, which has gained international recognition, has 32 years experience in producing cut flowers.

Although the company supplies 75 percent of its produces to the US, it has also many customers in Europe and Asia, according to the general manager.

The investor, who came to Ethiopia last year to engage in floricultural sector, was granted 73 hectares of land in Welmera Woreda of Oromia Regional State.

Half of the total land would be used for developing cut flower, Castillo said, adding that the project launched in May will create jobs to 1,000 citizens when it goes fully operational.

The investor further said he would allocate 18 million USD in the coming three to four years to develop 32 types of roses and summer flower.

In terms of providing social services for the localities, Castillo said the company has built 3.2 kilometers long gravel road at a cost of 50,000 USD and would build a health center that particularly cares for the new born to 6 year old children.

Ethiopian Horticulture Development Agency Director-General, Alem Weldegerima, on his part said two Ecuadorian investors have invested in floriculture development in this current year alone.

Besides, investors from Middle East, Far East and South America have entered the Ethiopian market this year to engage in horticulture and floriculture, he added. (ENA)

Addis Ababa, 6 September 2014 (WIC) – The relations between Ethiopia and the European Union (EU) have been showing significant growth as their friendship is based on mutual benefits and is strategic, Ethiopia’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to EU said.

The envoy, Ambassador Teshome Toga, said that Ethio-EU relationship is based on mutual benefits and on strategic principles.

Ambassador Teshome, who pointed out the close working relationship Ethiopia has developed with the EU Commission and the EU Parliament, said the country has been receiving huge support from the union for its development activities.

He also said the trade relationship is strong and 40 percent of Ethiopia’s export goes to EU member countries while foreign direct investment flowing from the union to Ethiopia has also been increasing.

Ethiopia is benefiting from the development aid extended to 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, the envoy said, adding that the union would give additional 200 million Euros to Ethiopia for human rights and related issues through its development fund.

The support of the union to Ethiopia is strong and comprehensive as the EU appreciates the role Ethiopia has been playing in bringing about sustainable peace and stability to Africa in general and to East Africa in particular, Ambassador Teshome elaborated.

The peacekeeping role of Ethiopia in Somalia and South Sudan has for instance been winning support in various ways, he added.

According to the envoy, the European Union has allotted 745 million Euros that would be used for agriculture, food security, infrastructure building, education and healthcare from 2014 to 2020.

Out of the 28 EU member countries 20 have embassies in Addis Ababa. (ENA