PRESS RELEASE
Ethiopian Diaspora in the UK pledge full support for the GTP
April 16, 2011 - LONDON
Ethiopians and UK citizens of Ethiopian origin have vowed to contribute their share to the Five-Year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) following discussions and consultations at the Ethiopian Embassy, London on 16th April.
In a keynote address he made to over 600 participants, the Minister of Civil Service, Ato Juneidi Sado, said Ethiopians would march ahead joining hands to defeat poverty and entrench development. In Ethiopia, said the minister, everybody has been a winner, leaving poverty and backwardness as the major losers.
Minister Juneidi Sado, who headed the high-level Government delegation, which included the Head of the Somali State, Abdi Mohammed Umer and the Board Director of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange Market, Ambassador Addisalem Balema, stressed the crucial role the Diaspora plays in the successful implementation of the plan.
Citing South Korea as a model of transformation which brought a massive change in the life of its people, the Minister called on Ethiopians to follow suit in the national drive they have set in motion with the Growth and Transformation Plan.
In a PowerPoint presentation he made at the meeting, Ambassador Addisalem Balema, elaborated the gist of the plan which includes doubling both Ethiopian agricultural production and the GDP. The blueprint, embracing massive infrastructure development, includes the construction of additional universities, hospitals, schools, roads and other social amenities that will help transform the lives of the Ethiopian people.
Ethiopia, he said, at the end of the five-year plan, envisages joining the community of middle income nations, ensuring people from all walks of life will enjoy benefits accruing from Ethiopia’s continuing fast economic growth.
The Ambassador noted that the Ethiopian government, alongside its hard working people, has a great vision of making Ethiopia an even more vibrant and fast growing economy, a stable democracy and a nation where citizens will benefit from on-going development at all levels.
He urged members of the Ethiopian community to uphold the Ethiopian national interest by promoting trade and investment, partaking in technological transfer and in resource mobilisation so the massive transformation projects may fully materialise, leading to the realization of the Ethiopian Renaissance.
Encouraged and highly inspired by the prospect of Ethiopia’s bright future, participants at the conference did not hesitate in making pledges to buy bonds, including bonds for the Millennium Dam project, which symbolises a viable and prosperous Ethiopia.
In opening remarks at the conference, H.E. Berhanu Kebede, Ambassador of Ethiopia to the UK, cited gains made over the past years particularly in the areas of education, health, infrastructure, agriculture, trade and investment, and highlighted massive projects under the GTP, including additional power generation of up to 8,000MW, construction of over 130,000km of roads, and more than 10 huge sugar factories in various regions across the nation.
Ambassador Berhanu urged the Diaspora to actively involve themselves in the implementation of this historic renaissance plan, budgeted at a trillion birr, with a sense of national pride and commitment and he assured participants of success in their joint efforts in all fields of endeavour.
Following a lively discussion and a question and answer session on the GTP, members of the Ethiopian community issued a six-point communiqué, reflecting their resolve and determination to play a crucial role in the realization of the Five-Year Growth and Transformation Plan the Government has drawn up for fast track development in Ethiopia.
Communiqué of Participants at the GTP Conference, London
We, the Ethiopian Community in the UK, convened in London to discuss the five-year Growth and Transformation Plan, express our full support and commitment for the implementation of the GTP.
- Pledge to do our level best to mobilise resources and contribute in knowledge and technology transfer in order to expedite the effective implementation of the GTP
- Express our unreserved support for the Millennium Dam to be constructed on the River Nile, to utilise its waters for power generation
- Vow to deploy unstinted efforts for the realization of the construction of the Dam by raising and securing the requisite funds through the sale of bonds and other resource mobilizing schemes
- Pledge to contribute to the on-going nation-building endeavours by making available the best use of our professional knowledge and expertise in our fields of specialization
- Express our determination to discharge our responsibilities by engaging in public diplomacy and image building, to counter smear campaigns by forces bent on scuttling our development efforts
- Express our resolve to make use of the enabling environment to engage in investment in the country to expedite job creation and improve supply of products and services
LONDON, SW7 1PZ
For further information please contact the Press Office on 0207 838 3880/3, Mobile 07717 603163, or send an email to info@ethioembassy.org.uk.