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News

From Ethiopia

July, 2017

Issue #48

In This Issue Updates From the Embassy in Canberra

Feature Topics

Simien Mountains National Park no longer in danger: UNESCO

AU decides to erect memorials for Emperor Haile Selassie, Former PM

Meles Zenawi

Ethiopia building satellite to launch into orbit after two years

Power pool plans advancing East African electricity market

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News from the Embassy Issue #48

Contents

New WHO director from Ethiopia begins work ................................................................... 2

Ethiopia plans to have 15 industrial parks by June 2018 .................................................... 2

Simien Mountains National Park no longer in danger: UNESCO ...................................... 3

Premier visits progress of Awash-Woldia-Haragebya railway project .............................. 4

AU decides to erect memorials for Emperor Haile Selassie, Former PM Meles Zenawi .. 4

Ethiopia eyes balanced trade ties with Kenya, Sudan .......................................................... 5

Ethiopia earns record 866 million USD from coffee export ................................................. 6

Ethiopia finishes top of 13th African Junior Championships medal table......................... 7

Expo Enables Local Innovators to Showcase Products ........................................................ 7

Ethiopia building satellite to launch into orbit after two years ........................................... 8

Ethiopia Fast developing into Dynamic Apparel-sourcing Hub: Nikkei Asian Review

magazine ................................................................................................................................... 9

Ethiopian capital attracts over 650,000 tourists in past 9 months .................................... 11

Power pool plans advancing East African electricity market ............................................ 11

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New WHO director from

Ethiopia begins work

Source: www.ebc.et

New World Health Organization (WHO)

Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom of

Ethiopia is a specialist in malaria.

The new director general of the World

Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom,

took over managing the UN health agency

on Saturday, the WHO said.

A specialist in malaria, Tedros served as

Health Minister and later as Foreign

Minister for Ethiopia.

The 52-year-old is the first African to head

the global health organisation and he

takes over from Margaret Chan of China,

who led the WHO for nearly 10 years.

Tedros was elected to the post in May in

what was the first time the WHO director-

general was chosen by the World Health

Assembly from among multiple

candidates. Previously a single nominee

had been chosen by the executive board.

The Geneva-based WHO, with some 8,000

employees worldwide, is responsible for

coordinating global action to disease

outbreaks and epidemics, such as Ebola,

and to set the norms for health systems in

all countries.

Ethiopia plans to have 15

industrial parks by June 2018

Source: www.ebc.et

Ethiopia has planned to increase the

number of its industrial parks to 15 by

June 2018 as part of its efforts to boost

manufacturing and export.

Speaking exclusively to Xinhua on

Thursday, Dr. Arkebe Oqubay Board

Chairperson of Ethiopian Industrial Park

Corporation (EIPC), said Ethiopia's aim in

building more industrial parks is to enable

the manufacturing sector to contribute to

20 percent of Ethiopia's GDP and 50

percent of the export volume by 2025.

Currently Ethiopia has seven operational

industrial parks with Mekelle and

Kombolcha being the latest additions

commissioned earlier this month.

Mekelle and Kombolcha industrial parks

were both built by China Civil Engineering

Construction Corporation (CCECC) at a

cost of 100 million U.S. dollars and 90

million dollars respectively.

"In January 2018 Kilinto Pharmaceutical

and Bole Lemi 2 industrial parks will be

commissioned, by May Bahir Dar and

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Jimma industrial parks will be operational,

and in June expect Debre Birhan and

Arerti industrial parks to start operations"

said Dr. Arkebe.

The Ethiopian government has already

announced that two other industrial parks,

Dire Dawa and Adama will be

commissioned in September.

The two industrial parks are also being

constructed by CCECC at a cost of 190

million and 125 million dollars

respectively.

"Industrial parks will initiate fast economic

growth and enable structural economic

change through a high tech manufacturing

industry," said Dr. Arkebe.

He further said with Ethiopia planning to

sustain 14 years of double-digit growth for

a decade in order to create 2 million

direct and 4.4 million indirect

manufacturing jobs, the bulk of them will

come from industry parks.

Simien Mountains National

Park no longer in danger:

UNESCO

Source: www.unesco.org

The World Heritage Committee meeting

in Krakow has decided to remove Simien

Mountains National Park from the List of

World Heritage in Danger in recognition of

improvements in its management and of

measures taken to reduce overgrazing

and visitor impact.

The World Heritage Committee welcomed

Ethiopia's commitment in building an

alternative road to alleviate the

disturbance of traffic on the main road

that crosses the property, reduce cattle

overgrazing and visitor impact. The

Committee furthermore welcomed the

stabilization of the site's endemic animal

populations of, notably, Walia ibex and

Gelada baboons.

Massive erosion over the years on the

Ethiopian plateau has created one of the

most spectacular landscapes in the world,

with jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys

and sharp precipices dropping some

1,500m. Simien National Park is home to

extremely rare animal species.

Inscribed on the World Heritage List in

1978, the site was added to the List of

World Heritage in Danger in 1996 due to

the impact of a new road across it,

excessive cattle grazing, agricultural

encroachment and a drop in Walia ibex,

Simien fox and other large mammal

populations.

The List of World Heritage in Danger is

designed to inform the international

community of conditions, which threaten

the very characteristics for which a

property was inscribed on the World

Heritage List, and to encourage corrective

action. Typical threats that lead to danger

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listing include armed conflict, natural

disaster, unplanned urban developments,

poaching and pollution.

Premier visits progress of

Awash-Woldia-Haragebya

railway project

Source: www.fanabc.com

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has

visited the progress of Awash-Woldia-

Haragebya railway project.

He was accompanied by several high level

government officials including, Chief of

Amhara regional state, Gedu

Andargachew and Minister of Transport,

Ahmed Shide, according to a statement

the Ethiopian Railways Corporation sent

to FBC today. “By taking part in this

flagship project, I believe that Ethiopians

have gained technology and knowledge

which help the country to manage railway

projects by its own in the future,” the

Premier said after the visit.

The 390-km long Awash-

Woldia/Haragebya railway is 57 percent

complete now. The project also sees the

construction of 12 tunnels and 65 bridges.

The project is being implemented into two

phases. The first phase of the project, a

stretch of 270km from Awash-Kombolcha,

is 75 percent complete and will start test

run at the end of this year, the statement

said. Some 6, 500 people are taking part

at the project, including 4,000 Ethiopians,

the statement added.

AU decides to erect memorials

for Emperor Haile Selassie,

Former PM Meles Zenawi

Source: www.ebc.et

The African Union decides to recognize

the works of Emperor Haile Selassie and

former Prime Minister Melese Zenawi of

Ethiopia for their key role in strengthening

Pan-Africanism.

The AU has decided to erect memorials

for these former Ethiopian leaders for

their contribution to the Union. The

decision was made today at the closing

ceremony of the 29th AU Summit held at

the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa,

Ethiopia under the theme, “Harnessing

the Demographic Dividend through

Investment in the Youth.”

Briefing the press in relation with AU's

decision to recognize Ethiopian leaders

who fought for Pan-Africanism, Ethiopian

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Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn

appreciated the move of African Union.

AU is due to recognize former Ethiopian

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi for his role

in transforming OAU to AU among other

massive undertakings.

The leaders have also decided to

recognize the role of emperor Haile

Selassie in the establishment of the then

OAU and in the struggle to make Africa

strong and independent.

Ethiopia eyes balanced trade

ties with Kenya, Sudan


Ethiopia targets to balance its trade

exchange with neighbouring Kenya and

Sudan by exporting value added

agricultural products and quality industrial

goods, according to Ministry of Trade.

Head of Public Relations and

Communication Affairs Office at the

Ministry, Wondimu Filate told ENA that

recently, the trade balance between

Ethiopia and the two countries has been

in favour of the neighbours especially in

2016.

Alongside the import/export, total trade

volume has also varied especially with

Sudan, Wondimu underscored.

For instance trade volume with Sudan

dropped to 145 million USD in 2015 from

356.8 million USD in 2010. Ethiopia

exports agricultural products to Sudan

while imports mainly oil products.

“Activities are being underway to

penetrate into the markets of the two

nations by exporting quality industrial

products alongside value added

agricultural products to boost the

country`s foreign currency”, he said.

Expansion of agro-processing and

industrial parks will play a fundamental

role in this regard by enabling the country

produce value added export oriented

items, Wondimu added.

In addition to local infrastructural

development, the country has also been

working to create regional integration

with extensive cross boundary

infrastructural network including power,

road and railway.

The expansion of these infrastructural

networks with all neighbouring countries

and beyond is expected to improve the

intra-regional trade.

According to recent reports, Ethiopia

plans to earn 290 million USD annually

from energy export by 2019, when the

Ethio-Kenya electricity transmission and

distributions line is completed.

Ethiopia earns about 80 million USD of

revenue annually by selling about 100

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MW of energy to Sudan and 80 MW of

energy to Djibouti.

Trading raw agricultural products,

contraband trade and instability were

mentioned among the major challenges

that tested the growth of trade between

countries the region, it was stated.

“Ethiopia has been playing its leading role

particularly on settling peace and stability

in the volatile region, Horn of Africa in

particular and Africa in general with

prioritizing peace to boost all forms of

relations”, Wondimu underlined.

Ethiopia has enjoyed a positive trade

balance with the other two neighbouring

countries Djibouti and Somalia, according

to the ministry.

Ethiopia earns record 866

million USD from coffee export

Source: www.ebc.et

Ethiopia has announced a record 866-

million-U.S.-dollar earning from coffee

export during the just concluded fiscal

year.

The announcement by the Ethiopian

Coffee and Tea Development and

Marketing Authority on Wednesday said

Ethiopia has secured the revenue from

the export of 221,000 tonnes of coffee to

the global market.

According to the authority, the country

has managed to achieve 92 percent of its

targets in coffee export sector during the

2016/2017 fiscal year.

The authority further hailed the

performance as "a very great

achievement" compared to the previous

years as the quantity of coffee product

exported grew by 11.5 percent while the

income generated from coffee export

increased by 20 percent.

Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United States,

Belgium, Sudan and South Korea are

among the top importers of the Ethiopian

coffee, accounting for close to 86 percent

of the total coffee exported from Ethiopia,

according to the authority.

Ethiopia is one of Africa's largest

producers of Arabica coffee. Coffee

production is dubbed as the backbone of

the country's agriculture-led economy.

The East African country also announced

74 million dollars earning from gold

exports during the same fiscal year.

The revenue was reduced by half from the

previous period, when Ethiopia earned

150 million dollars from gold exports.

The Ethiopian Mines, Petroleum and

Natural Gas has blamed primarily the

contraband gold trading for the decrease

in gold exports revenue.

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Ethiopia finishes top of 13th

African Junior Championships

medal table


Ethiopian athletics team finished first at

the 13th African Junior Championships

held in Tlemcen, Algeria, collecting a total

of 38 medals, 13 of them gold.

The African Junior Athletics

Championships, a biennial continental

athletics event for junior athletes from

African nations, held for the 13th time in

Algeria, ended last night.

At the end of the Championships, Ethiopia

secured 13 gold, 13 silver and 12 bronze

medals in various events.

With 17 medals (12 gold, 4 silver and one

bronze), South Africa finished 2nd, while

the host country, Algeria, obtained 20

medals (4 gold, 8 silver and 8 bronze) to

earn a third place.

Kenya finished 4th with 10 medals (4 gold,

4 silver and two bronze.)

It is to be recalled that Nigeria, South

Africa and Ethiopia stood first, second and

third, respectively, at the 12th African

Junior Championships held in Addis Ababa

two years ago.

Expo Enables Local Innovators

to Showcase Products

Source: www.ena.gov.et

Ethiopia’s first international ICT Expo has

enabled local innovators and companies

to showcase products and innovations, as

well as share best practices with global

companies.

Participants of the expo, who ENA has

talked, said the expo creates opportunity

to display innovations to visitors

estimated at 300,000 from around the

world.

The first international ICT Expo is being

held in Addis Ababa under the theme:

“Digital Ethiopia”.

Gebeya.com is one of the companies that

have been engaged on producing talented

IT software developers in Africa with its IT

training academy in Ethiopia since

September 2016.

The academy was introduced in to the

market by two African innovators named

Amadou Daffe and Hiruy Amanuel.

Merkeb Mengistu, Marketing Manager of

Gebeya.com said that the company has

exhibited many innovative products in the

expo.

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She noted that such kind of expo enable

companies like Gebeya.com to find

sponsors and partners that would help

them penetrate into the global market.

Merkeb said SAEW, an application to

monitor patients’ health status, is one of

the new innovations that the company

displays in the expo. The sensor to be

worn on the patient’s wrists, monitors the

patient’s health status and sends

messages to the nurse or to the caretaker

when there is an emergency.

According to her, the application will be

applied in hospitals in the capital Addis

Ababa in the coming three months.

Addistag Systems PLC, a company that has

interest on developing various mobile and

computer software and applications is

another company participating in the

expo.

Since its establishment in 2016 the

company has developed a mobile

application for United Bank to show

places where branch offices and ATM

machines of the bank are for customers,

Yafet Birehanu, co-founder of the

company said.

According to him, the company is

displaying its latest mobile application

“Selam Taxi” in this Expo. The app, to be

installed on mobile phones, provides

users with exact location of places and

provides information about taxis that can

offer services.

The application provides users’

information about places where they

want to go and identifies what kind of taxi

can provide them transport service,

including plate numbers and the price.

The application that could be installed on

taxis can also provide information to

drivers and passengers the kilometre they

have travelled and the price to be charged.

Many visitors have shown interest in the

application, Yafet said

Since his company is new to the ICT

market, Yafet believes that such kind of

expo would have great impact by creating

vast opportunities.

There are more than 25 innovative start-

up companies that have exhibiting their

innovations like Gebeya and Addistag

Systems PLC in the expo that consists

exhibition and conference.

Over 300 guests from 45 countries across

the world have been attending the

international expo that Ethiopia has

hosting for the first time.

Ethiopia building satellite to

launch into orbit after two

years


Chaired by Prime Minister Hailemariam

Desalegn, the first regular meeting of the

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Ethiopian Space Science and Technology

Council held today.

The meeting, which was conducted at the

Prime Minister’s office, discussed in detail

on collective works, legal frameworks,

policies and strategies needed to advance

the ongoing works in the sector.

Space science and technology centred

recommendations, researches and

satellite launches are aimed at supporting

the national agendas that were designed

to improve the livelihoods of the people,

said the Premier at the end of the meeting.

Dr Engineer Getahun Mekurai, Minister of

Science and Technology for his part said

that the country is building a satellite to

launch into orbit after two years.

The satellite, which is being built with the

support of the Chinese government,

weighs 65kgs, according to him.

It will be placed into orbit at a height of up

to 700 km above the surface, he said,

adding, Ethiopian engineers are

participating in building the satellite, he

said.

The Minister indicated that Ethiopia will

launch the satellite in 2019. The satellite

will be used for various purposes, for

weather forecast and other related

activities in particular, it was noted.

The Ethiopian Space Science and

Technology Council is mandated to make

recommendations on issues related to

space science and technology as well as to

manage activities of the Ethiopian Space

Science and Technology Institute.

Ethiopia Fast developing into

Dynamic Apparel-sourcing Hub:

Nikkei Asian Review magazine

Source: www.ena.gov.et

Ethiopia is fast developing into a dynamic

apparel-sourcing hub as low labour costs

lure international clothing makers to the

African nation, according to the Nikkei

Asian Review magazine.

Manufacturers from China, South Korea,

India and other countries have opened

new plants in the continent's second most

populous nation while a growing number

of European and U.S. brands are sourcing

garments there, it stated.

A significant factor in Ethiopia's

emergence on the clothing scene is the

planned opening of a new railway line to a

port in neighbouring Djibouti, located on

the Horn of Africa in the Arabian Sea.

The railway will facilitate transport of

goods from the landlocked country's

industrial areas, like the Bole Lemi

Industrial Park, an hour's drive from the

capital Addis Ababa.

Opened in 2015, the sprawling 150-

hectare park is bustling with Chinese,

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Taiwanese and South Korean production

facilities, conveniently clustering factories

for textiles, apparel products and leather

shoes in one area.

At a factory operated by Shin Textile

Solutions, a South Korean company,

workers sit at long rows of machines

sewing mainly sportswear, the magazine

wrote.

According to the general manager, the

plant's entire output is exported, with

about 60 percent going to Europe, 20

percent to the U.S and the remainder to

Asia.

Japan's Fast Retailing, which

manufactures and sells casual clothes

under the Uniqlo brand, is among the

many apparel makers that have shown

interest in the plant, the manager said.

Ethiopia's low labour cost makes it an

attractive garment-sourcing destination,

according to the company.

The average monthly pay for a factory

worker is about 50 USD, compared with

140-160 USD in Kenya, 70-90 USD in

Bangladesh, 150-170 USD in Vietnam and

400-500 USD in China, it added.

Ethiopia's main exports currently include

coffee, gold and leather products, but the

government is stepping up efforts to

develop new industries.

With a population hovering around 100

million, Ethiopia is the second most

populous nation in Africa after Nigeria.

The country's young, low-wage workforce

gives it the potential to grow into a major

garment-sourcing hub with a vibrant

market, the magazine elaborated.

Another factor in favour of the country

becoming a bigger manufacturer is its

fast-developing infrastructure, according

to Nikkei Asian Review.

The inland nation used to depend heavily

on trucking, hindering its transition to a

more export-oriented economy. But the

new railway connecting Addis Ababa to

Djibouti will solve this problem.

The government has built a distribution

centre in the Addis Ababa suburb of Mojo,

where there is also a train station on the

new line. Goods from Ethiopia's industrial

parks will be sent to the Port of Djibouti

via the centre.

Previously, it took three days to transport

goods by truck from Addis Ababa to

Djibouti. The railway will cut this to about

nine hours.

Currently, companies targeting Ethiopia

are mostly apparel makers and other light

industry players. But General Electric

plans to manufacture medical equipment

in the country, and Samsung Electronics is

working with a local partner to produce

printers.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor reached an

agreement with a local company in May

regarding construction of a plant to

assemble commercial vehicles.

China has also been a leading investor in

Ethiopia, as in other parts of Africa.

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Ethiopian capital attracts over

650,000 tourists in past 9

months

Source: www.ebc.et

Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa has

attracted over 650,000 tourists in the first

three quarters of the just completed

Ethiopian fiscal year, according to Addis

Ababa city administration officials.

Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa is known

for hosting various international and

regional organizations, which include the

African Union (AU) headquarters and the

United Nations Economic Commission for

Africa (UN-ECA).

According to a statement by the Addis

Ababa City Administration Culture and

Tourism Office on Monday, the city has

registered an increase in the number of

tourists during the last decade.

The city administration, which had an

initial plan to attract 675,000 visitors

during the just completed 2016/2017

Ethiopian fiscal year, was able to

accomplish over 90 percent of its target

by attracting over 650,000 tourists in the

first nine months of the year, according to

Gebretsadik, head of Addis Ababa City

Administration Culture and Tourism Office.

According to Gebretsadik, with an average

of 12 days of stay in the capital, tourists

from around the world have frequently

visited 13 attraction sites, including the

Ethiopian national museum.

Gebretsadik further noted that the city

administration has implemented various

measures in a bid to augment the number

of tourists, including an updated tourist

map and other guides.

The Ethiopian National Museum, located

at the heart of Addis Ababa, is one major

tourist attraction site for the east African

country.

The historical and archaeological artefacts

collection on show at the Ethiopian

national museum is ranked among the

most important in sub-Saharan Africa. It is

also home to the most famous Lucy, a 3.2

million-year-old human ancestor of the

hominid era.

Power pool plans advancing

East African electricity market


The East African Power Pool (EAPP) seeks

to ensure increased power supply,

reduced production cost and efficient

transmission and exchange in its bid to

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ultimately establish a modernized

electricity market in East Africa.

Through designing and continuously

updating a master plan for regional power

integration, EAPP provides frameworks for

its member states in their quest to

advancing power production and trade,

Zelalem Gebrehiwot, Technical Director at

EAPP told The Ethiopian Herald.

The master plan, according to Zelalem,

also helps members in drafting their

national plans of power generation and

export as well as transmission lines

installation.

EAPP conducted a study to support the

robust Ethio-Kenya Interconnector which

is now under construction. It has also

been engaged in the development of

market rules and procedures as well as

studies on regional regulation and

procedures, according to him.

“With the completion of the ongoing

power infrastructure projects and those in

the pipeline, EAPP is evolving to be

Africa’s biggest power pool in terms of

connectivity, installed capacity, and

geographic coverage” claimed Zelalem.

EAPP is currently mainly contributing to

the completion of the Ethiopia-Kenya-

Tanzania interconnection, besides the

Tanzania-Zambia interconnection. This

would herald the realization of the North-

South Power Corridor, and the

interconnection of the South African

Power Pool (SAPP) with EAPP.

Moreover, added Zelalem, EAPP works on

similar platforms such as the Eastern

Africa transmission planning partnership,

EAPP interconnection code compliance

programme, development of a wheeling

agreement and tariff for the Ethiopia-

Kenya-Tanzania transaction which are

currently underway.

“Ethiopia could earn a staggering one

billion US dollars per annum from power

trade in the near future with its increasing

production and bilateral agreements the

country signed for electricity export.”

The East African region represents 39 per

cent of African population and is endowed

with renewable energy resources;

whereas more than 200 million people in

the region are without access to electricity,

accounting for around 80 per cent of its

population.

EAPP was established in 2005 with the

signing of an Inter-Governmental

Memorandum of Understanding (IGMOU)

by seven Eastern Africa countries, namely:

Ethiopia, Burundi, DRC, Egypt, Kenya,

Rwanda and Sudan.

EAPP was adopted as a specialized

institution to foster power system

interconnectivity by the heads of states of

the Common Market for Eastern and

Southern Africa (COMESA) region.

Tanzania, Libya and Uganda have joined

EAPP in March 2010, February 2011 and

December 2012 respectively.

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