Day: April 18, 2024

Addis Ababa: Global development partners pledged 630 million USD to support the humanitarian assistance induced by climate change in Ethiopia, Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Nebiyu Tedla said.

In his biweekly briefing today, Spokesperson Nebiyu said that Ethiopia has achieved numerous diplomatic gains in the last 6 years of reform.

The high-level pledging conference in Geneva co-sponsored by Ethiopia, Britain and the United Nations received nearly about 630 million USD in pledges to provide humanitarian assistance for Ethiopians suffering from the ill effects of climate change, it was indicated.

Ethiopia is gaining encouraging results towards food security; particularly with the dry season wheat, he stated, and added that it is journey to ensure self-reliance.

In addition to that, Ethiopia made efforts to engage the diaspora in every national developmental agenda, Nebiyu said, and emphasized that Ethiopia has gained 20 billion USD through remittance over the last 5 years.

Moreover, the diaspora has contrib
uted about 55 million USD to accelerate the completion of the national flagship project Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), the Spokesperson elaborated.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa: A project that promotes circular economy in the textile and garment sector was launched in Ethiopia today.

A circular economy (CE) approach extends the life of textile products through reuse and repair and keep end-of-life materials in the economy through recycling.

The 5-year project is part of promotion of circular economy in the textile and garment sector through sustainable management of chemicals and waste underway in Lesotho, Madagascar, and South Africa, it was learned.

The project in Ethiopia benefits 10 textile manufacturing facilities and additional industry stakeholders.

The circular economy promotion project includes training and capacity building about sustainable chemical management and waste water management, training of local partners to scale technical expertise and on-site support at the identified facilities to implement sustainable chemical management system.

Speaking during the launching ceremony, Manufacturing Industry Development Institute (MIDI) Director-General Milke
ssa Jagema said the project is compatible with the new Ethiopian Manufacturing Industry Policy.

Noting that the sector consumes high amount of energy and chemicals causing pollution, he said a lot of mitigation mechanisms developed and implemented globally and locally have been included in the project.

He furthers stated that the sector has positive contributions to Ethiopia’s economy, although it is considered as one of the most polluting sectors in the world.

Therefore, ‘we have to follow the circular economy approach for sustainable and inclusive growth of the sector.’

The project launched in Ethiopia today is funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa: There is a growing interest and promising future for learning the Chinese language in Africa, according to UNECA Africa Center for Statistics Director Oliver Chinganya.

Addressing the celebration of the Chinese Language Day at the UNECA (United Nations Economic for Africa) in Addis Ababa today, the director noted that among the numerous reasons why people are increasingly interested in learning Chinese is its being one of the six official working languages of the United Nations.

The growing ease of travel to China, expansion of Confucius Institutes in the continent, and the vast economic opportunities that come with Chinese language proficiency are the other reasons, Chinganya added.

According to him, there were 62 Confucius institutes in 45 African countries in 2021.

The number of students enrolled in the Chinese language programs also surpassed the number of students in many European countries.

The director claimed that the number of people learning Chinese worldwide is nearing 40 million,
and is projected to reach 100 million by 2026.

Chinganya finally called for a stronger partnership between UNECA and China’s Mission to the African Union, along with other multilateral partners.

Head of China’s Mission to the African Union, Hu Changchun, echoed the importance of learning Chinese to understand China.

Emphasizing the worldwide surge in demand for Chinese language proficiency, he reaffirmed his government’s commitment to addressing global needs such as peace, development, and cooperation.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency