Day: April 22, 2024

Addis Ababa: Ethiopia has reiterated commitment to BRICS vision and to discharge its responsibilities for promoting meaningful and productive partnership for inclusive and sustainable development.

State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mesganu Arga is participating in the 2nd BRICS Sherpas/ Sous -Sherpas meeting on partner country model in Moscow.

Mesganu posted on X: ‘I reiterated Ethiopia’s commitment to BRICS vision and discharge our responsibilities to promote meaningful and productive partnership for inclusive and sustainable development.’

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa: Bolstering collaboration among development partners and NGOs on water and energy accessibility is significant to prevent duplication of efforts in the sector, Minister of Water and Energy, Engineer Habtamu Itefa said.

A joint working group secretariat for the water and energy sector convened discussion today to assess the progress made and explore avenues for future cooperation.

Speaking at the occasion, Engineer Habtamu stated that we are here to share our experiences and discuss on how to enhance future actions strategically.

Over the past three years, we have achieved significant milestones in water supply, water resource management, and energy accessibility, he noted.

For this, the minister expressed gratitude to development partners for their support in this regard, acknowledging the efforts made towards modernization, ensuring water sustainability, and automation for effective planning.

According to him, the government is committed to further enhancing its collaboration with developmen
t partners and NGOs to ensure drinking water and energy needs of the citizens.

“I believe it’s time for strategic collaboration to prevent resource duplication and streamline activities. Today, our focus is to reflect on our collective experiences, assess progress, and chart a path forward,” he stated.

Achieving such goals requires a strategic approach and collaborative planning, he said, adding that ideally, regular evaluations on a quarterly or even more frequent basis, will allow us to identify both our shortcomings and our areas of efficiency.

Unless we strive to optimize our resources for specific purposes that address our needs, our efforts may yield minimal results or fail to meet our demands entirely, he said.

Water Aid Country Director, Yaekob Metena, emphasized the necessity of collaborative efforts between the government and development partners to improve Ethiopia’s utilization of resources in the water and energy sector.

He highlighted the importance of ongoing consultations among developmen
t partners engaged in the sector, enabling institutions to share experiences and foster a culture of information exchange.

Additionally, he noted that partner organizations will collaborate closely with the ministry to achieve the sector’s development objectives.

Country Director for IRC WASH, Lemessa Mekonta on his part stressed the importance of ensuring accessibility of clean water and energy to citizens through fostering collaboration among partner organizations.

Substantial resources are needed to translate efforts in the water and energy sector into tangible outcomes, he said, adding, to this effect, concerted efforts from the government or development partners are also sought.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa: Executive Director of the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI) Secretariat, Florence Grace Adongo emphasized the need for stronger cooperation among the riparian states to ensure equitable utilization and sustainable management of the Nile water resources.

A national stakeholders meeting of the Nile Basin Initiative held in Addis Ababa today which aimed at raising visibility and awareness on the initiative and facilitating the tools for the implementation of its programs and projects.

Addressing the meeting, the executive director recalled that the NBI covers 10 percent of the African continent and is home to almost a quarter of the continents population.

The Nile Basin countries face key development challenges which are related to water security, energy security, food security and vulnerability to the environmental shocks that are rising from the negative impacts of climate change.

Stressing that no county can manage these challenges unilaterally, Adongo therefore, underlined that countries across th
e Nile Basin should come together to find a common solution for such common problems.

This move would have a paramount importance for equitable use of the Nile Basin’s shared water resources, according to her.

The executive director further stated that strengthening cooperation is essential to ensure equitable utilization, and sustainable management of the Nile River water resources.

Over 25 years, NBI served as the platform for dialogue, a catalyst for change, fostering regional integration, enhancing competitiveness and unlocking the Nile Basin’s immense potential for Africa and beyond, she pointed out.

Citing that Ethiopia has been at the forefront in supporting matters of cooperation, Adongo said we look forward for more cooperation and working together.

Recall Ethiopia is also one of the first countries that have endorsed the Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA). She urged the remaining countries to ratify the agreement to transform the Nile Basin Initiative into a Nile Basin Commission.

Addressin
g the occasion, State Minister of Water and Energy Abraha Adugna also affirmed that the NBI has made significant achievements so far despite various challenges in the region.

NBI promoted basin-wide dialogue and stakeholder involvement on confidence building, providing strategic, technical and analytical framework, introducing best practice tools, and methodologies among others.

The state Minister reaffirmed the solid determination of the Ethiopian government to achieve NBI’s ambitions as Nile River is a transboundary water resource which crosses 11 riparian countries.

Nile Basin Initiative is a regional intergovernmental partnership launched by the Nile Basin countries on 22nd February, 1999 to manage and develop the shared Nile Basin water resources in a cooperative manner, share substantial socio-economic benefits and promote regional peace and security.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency