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So far, Ethiopia is not a country that is mentioned in the same breath with countries that are endowed with natural resources. As the development the country is recording is based not on natural resource, but focuses on developing the agriculture sector, the country’s growth was rapidly growing even when the world’s economy was in crisis and when the price of goods took a hit in the international market.
Some say that our country’s growth is a show of a successful policy and strategy. The growth of our country came by combining and utilizing the land of the country with its easily trainable manpower – it didn’t come as a result of oil resource like the other developing countries.
As the FDRE government was able to assess and integratively utilize the country’s resource, it is able to record an economic development that is astounding the world. Understanding the resource of the 21st century is water, the FDRE government is building up projects that can bring change not only to the country but also to the rest of the regional countries as well. Regarding this issue, on the country’s foreign affairs and national security policy, the government states that Ethiopia should be able to utilize and conserve all its natural resource in order to be able to bring rapid development.
As a leader of Africa in the political sphere, Ethiopia is undertaking many projects that would enable the regional countries to integrate economically. One of those projects is its electrical projects. The FDRE government aims at generating electrical power utilizing its resources and selling it to neighboring countries in fair price and gain foreign currency reserve, and establishing peace in the region by strengthening the economic integration of the horn in the process.
We are now seeing the vision of Ethiopia materializing before our eyes. The 300 megawatts of electric power Ethiopia used to generate 26 years ago has now increased to more than 4000 today. And many projects that would take the number to more than 10 thousand are being speeding up as we speak. Although I mentioned the electric projects as an illustration of our country’s effort to integrate the regional countries, railway, road construction and air transport projects of the country are showing huge improvement. There is no country like Ethiopia that has tried to integrate the region or continent economically. However, some countries didn’t look at this benevolent effort of Ethiopia in good terms.
Although Ethiopia and Egypt are countries that have historical people to people relation and ties, their relationship is not strong as it is expected due to the Nile River. The various governments that have ruled over Egypt at various times have used the Nile River as diverter of internal political fever.
The governments have been confusing and manipulating their people by making it appear that if Ethiopia starts to use the Nile River their country will fall to grave danger. By citing colonial era treaty, previous rulers of Egypt used to tell their people that Ethiopia should not be using even a liter of the River’s water, and this has been a source for their people to have a wrong line of thinking on the issue.
Ethiopia; which contributes more than 85% to the Nile River, was made to sit idly by when the water was being utilized unfairly, and was also made not to have any kind of right to use the River. However, as times change, a strong government that is capable of asking and protecting the rights and interest of the Ethiopian people was established.
The fair water utilization principle the Ethiopia government flaunts not only protects our country’s interest, it also protected the rights of the people of the riparian countries to fairly use from the River. It is Ethiopia that has played the lion-share in bringing the principle of fair utilization to the usage of the Nile River water. This has made us proud of our government’s position.
As I have tried to mention it above, the previous Egyptian leaders have used the Nile River issue as a tool to diffuse and divert internal problems. They used the Nile River issue as a tool to threaten their people, which in turn led them to look at the development aspiration of Ethiopian people and government through tainted or distorted view. However, now the truth has come out. The FDRE government has shown through the Grand renaissance dam that it is possible to develop and change for the better together and collaboratively. The Ethiopian government has formulated projects that would bring lasting peace to the region and guarantee lasting benefits, and it is implementing it. Our country has shown the interest to grow hand in hand with its neighbors through the principle of mutual benefit, and live together peacefully – and also has demonstrated this in practice. The Ethiopian government which adheres to a developmental model is implementing a policy and strategy that is not only used by the country but also by the regional countries as well. The mutual benefit principle our country initiated are ideal in every criteria.
The FDRE government in its inherent nature is a pro-people government. Thus, the projects the government undertakes also guarantees mutual benefit for neighboring countries as well, and doesn’t hurt others by benefitting Ethiopia. It is possible to bring lasting peace in the neighboring countries if ones benefit doesn’t come at the expense of the other. This is why the foreign policy Ethiopia’s government adheres to is based on the principle of mutual benefit. When Ethiopia formulated its foreign policy and started to implement it, it is by basing on the assessment made on the region and by bringing lasting benefit to the people.
Instead of following the path previous Egyptian leaders gone through, Ethiopia has chosen a path that would make everyone involved winners. As the establishing country of African Union and seat of the Union, and also as political and economic leader of the region, Ethiopia is doing things that live up to this billing.
Ethiopia’s mega projects benefits neighboring countries, strengthen good neighborhood, and provide the path where the regional countries together grow. Our country’s foreign policy prohibits it from meddling in the internal affairs of neighboring countries. And this characteristic of our government has always been there and will continue to be so in the future and will also be basis to change our country for the better.
Our country’s economy is growing fast. In order to maintain this growth, there needs to be a huge amount of electric power. Therefore, the government is implementing projects (by building power generators) that would enable it to fulfill our power demand, and bring in foreign currency by selling to neighboring countries in fair price. Although there have been some delay on the government’s plan to raise the country’s electric power supply to 10 thousand megawatts, the plan has been realized. And even though it is hard to implement this ambitious plan even in developed countries let alone in developing countries, but our country has made this true. Similarly, increasing the country’s power generating capability is one of the sectors that are being given attention in the second growth and transformation plan. At the moment, the government is working to increase the power generated by the country to 17 thousand megawatts. And in this effort, it is expected by public to give in their relentless contribution like before. As our country’s Renaissance can only be realized by all our effort, we all should do all what we can.
