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Ato Hailemariam Desalegn,
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia conferred with
members of the Ethiopian Diaspora community and Medical and Health Care
Professionals in Washington DC. last weekend.
While addressing members of
the Ethiopian community who were chiefly instrumental in the successful
execution of the Growth and Transformation Plan/GTP/orientation session held
in our vicinity last year, the D/PM remarked that so far major economic
and social activities undertaken by the government and results achieved to
improve the lives of Ethiopian people have proven tremendously positive.
He pointed out that the GTP
which has already embarked upon the second year of its Five-year plan period
has indicated a promising start to bring about structural transformation to
address the fundamental development challenges of the country. Speaking on
the ongoing development activities, he described the government’s efforts in
expanding infrastructure throughout the country with special emphasis on the
construction of the Grand Renaissance Dam which will mainly carry the lion's
share of achieving the plan to generate 10 thousand Megawatts of electricity
in the next five years.
To realize this objective,
the Deputy Prime Minister said the government is working with resolve and
revealed that Seven billion Birr worth of bond has already been bought by a
sector of the society which amply demonstrates that the Ethiopian people are
determined to eventuate this huge project without the injection of an iota
of fund from any external source. In this regard the D/PM urged the
Diaspora community to stand up to the clarion call of the hour and be
counted.
Ato Hailemariam also pointed
out to the negative effects of the current down side of the global economic
crisis and the financial meltdown, particularly the abrupt turmoil which has
engulfed the Arab world leading to soaring of commodity prices and imported
inflation. He hastened to assure the attendees by proclaiming the
government's determination to curb the galloping inflation.
In a similar development the
Deputy PM and FM gave an audience to two different groups from the Diaspora
medical and health care professionals during the last weekend in separate
meetings held at the conference hall of the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington
DC.
The D/PM and FM hailed the
professional for their initiative and commitment to actively engage in the
national development by resolving to put their competencies, skills and fund
into use to make a difference in the health and medical field. Both groups
expressed their readiness to inject their share in their area of competence
in the on-going national socio-economic drive and requested the government
to extend its support by expressing some of their concerns.
Ato Hailemariam Desalegn
welcomed the initiative of the professionals and commended them for their
proactive decision to involve themselves in the current nation building
endeavor. He assured them that the government will avail itself to address
their concerns.
In yet another development,
Ato Hailemariam Desalegn, conducted an interactive meeting with the
leadership of the First Hajira, a Diaspora Society of the members of the
Ethiopian Muslim Community who expressed their readiness to combat extreme
tendencies
in the faith and reaffirmed
their commitment to ensure the separation of the state, which is secular,
and religion as enshrined in the Ethiopian Constitution.
The D/PM and FM on his part
appreciated the concerns aired by the members and reiterated the
government's commitment and determination for the unbending adherence on its
part to the observance of the separation of faith and state as clearly
stipulated in the constitution of the land.
Present during the three separate engaging forums was Ambassador Girma Birru,
Special Envoy and Ambassador Extra-Ordinary and Plenipotentiary of the
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the United States of America
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