Since the time when Ethiopia joined BRICS, people from all backgrounds have been enunciating their boundless joy on the grounds that it plays a huge role in taking the country to new perspectives and new frontiers at some time in the future.
It is an accepted fact that this is the outcome of Ethiopia’s success in its modern diplomacy voyage. Had the country not been successful in diplomacy, joining the bloc, which entertains all diverse voices of the globe, would have been a wild goose chase. However, through its effective diplomatic voyage, Ethiopia ended up materializing one of its dreams.
As Ethiopia has been playing a leading role in the Horn of Africa in a number of respects, joining BRICS would help the country set the scene for protecting its interest in fashioning an all-encompassing world order and expediting the country’s economy. In more concrete terms, the country’s admission into BRICS without a shred of doubt can grease the wheels for forging strong and lasting diplomatic cooperation.
For the sake of acting as a voice for the country’s national interest and rallying behind Ethiopia’s interest in worldwide institutions, all civil organizations should stand by the side of Ethiopia devoid of batting an eye. All things considered, the country has got involved in yielding a multitude of reimbursements in the shortest possible period.
From profitable opportunities to technological breakthroughs and worldwide collaboration, Ethiopia’s BRICS membership is turning out to be a stimulus for growth and development as well as cement significant connections with fellow member nations.
It is worth nothing that by becoming member of the bloc, Ethiopia can gain access to a broad range of technological frameworks, code of practice in so far as it relates and other things of a similar kind more than ever before.
Ethiopia could successfully capitalize on BRICS membership to drive economic growth and development, a development advisor at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Gedion Jaleta told recently local media.
For months now, Ethiopia has officially become the newest member of the BRICS group of nations, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa among other new members.
According to him, this historic achievement is set to unlock a myriad of advantages for Ethiopia particularly in facilitating its import and export activities without the constant reliance on some foreign currency, a longstanding challenge for the country.
It is believed that this historic breakthrough will bring about a wide spectrum of benefits for the country in paving the way for import and export trade undertakings in the Horn of Africa and beyond devoid of being fully dependent on some foreign currencies.
BRICS members will assist Ethiopia’s and other new members’ ambition to join the New Development Bank in a little while. In doing so, they can move their respective nations to greater heights and new boundaries.
MoFA Spokesperson, Nebiyu Tedla, in the recent past stated that the founding members of BRICS, including Russia, China, and Brazil, have committed to supporting Ethiopia’s bid for NDB membership.
According to the spokesperson, the pledge came during Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Taye Atseke-Selassie’s (Amb.) deliberations with his BRICS member state counterparts during the bloc’s recent summit in Russia.
“BRICS members will support Ethiopia’s and other new entrant’s aspiration to join the New Development Bank, as stated during the joint announcement following the summit’s conclusion.”
He also highlighted that the joint announcement directed Ethiopia and other new BRICS member states to receive support to join the NDB based on their financial capabilities.
Foreign Minister Taye reportedly emphasized Ethiopia’s aspiration within the BRICS framework during the summit. “The ongoing geopolitical tensions among superpowers have been affecting developing countries. Ethiopia believes in the need for a genuine global partnership. In this regard, the Foreign Minister urged BRICS members to craft constructive mechanisms and navigate these geopolitical challenges,” Nebiyu elaborated.
The spokesperson further mentioned the necessity of the United Nations reform highlighting development financing and debt relief as issues that could be addressed through such reform. “Despite having over 190 member states, the UN and its agencies are often influenced by the decisions and struggles of a few superpowers, which Ethiopia views as undesirable.”
In point of fact, Ethiopia can contribute a lot in BRICS membership in a way that can catapult the region to the next level of development at a later point in time.
There are various minerals and other natural resources in Ethiopia. BRICS nations can get raw materials for their industries from Ethiopia. For example, Ethiopia is ranked first in Africa and fifth globally in terms of livestock population. This means that it will be able to supply meat, leather, milk, and milk products to member countries. Similarly, the availability of vast land and various climatic zones contributes to the growing of coffee and cereal products on a large scale. This indicates the presence of capacity to increase production and meet the needs of group members, according to an article.
The article goes on to say one of the most important agenda of the BRICS member countries is global warming. Renewable energy is one of the proposed solutions to this critical problem.
A major role of this grand project is the presence of many rivers in Ethiopia that can generate electricity, the presence of sufficient solar power generation potential, and the presence of natural resources capable of generating geothermal and wind energy.
Needless to say, joining BRICS without doubt plays a paramount role in ensuring the socioeconomic and political participation of the country and smoothing the path of seeing the sights of the country’s future and multinational representation down the road.
To this point, the country has been involved in a wide spectrum of measures to bolster its active involvement in BRICS bloc with the purpose of smoothing the path of its national development in the shortest possible time.
In the same way, Ethiopia’s entry into the bloc plays a very significant role in getting to the bottom of the country’s socio economic predicaments. Ethiopia’s meaningful participation in the BRICS will help the country efficiently tackle pressing challenges.
In the aftermath of Ethiopia’s diplomatic achievements, the country has been pointing in the right direction. In view of this, Ethiopia has jumpstarted pointing towards the correct route.
It has commonly been assumed that if Ethiopia sustained moving in the same path, the country will reap the fruits of accomplishment and achieving the intended objective.
BRICS has provided evidence that economically developing nations acquire a surplus of collaborative missions. This is evidence that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) are not the exclusive sources of funds. Needless to say, BRICS Development Bank can serve as grist for finance for large scale projects in the Global South.
The bloc membership would pave the way for attaining progressive growth on the basis of collaborative advantages and equality. Notwithstanding the fact that a lot has been said by some groups that feel an extreme animosity towards the progress of BRICS members’ nations, they have been stepping in the right direction giving a wide berth to their barefaced lie.
A strong tie and cooperation between parliaments, especially BRICS member countries, is critical to building capacity among nations, providing technical support, and fostering other collaborative efforts, the House of Federation Speaker recently said.
It is recalled that an Ethiopian delegation led by Speaker Agegnehu Teshager participated in the 10th BRICS Parliamentary Forum held in St. Petersburg from July 11-12, 2024.
Speaking to Russia’s state-run media, Sputnik, on the sidelines of the forum, Agegnehu mentioned Ethiopia’s excellent relationship with the Russian parliament. He indicated that the House of Federation has a robust connection with Russia’s Federation Council, and that Ethiopia aims to strengthen this relationship in areas of peace, leadership, economic development, and more.
According to Speaker Agegnehu, Ethiopia and Russia have signed nearly 22 agreements covering defense, mining, education, and other sectors, with approximately 14 of these agreements ratified.
A strong bond between BRICS and other global parliaments would enhance their ability to manage budgets and oversee government officials and ministers. Cooperation between parliaments for capacity building, technical support, and other areas is crucial for BRICS member countries and beyond.
One of the crucial rewards of BRICS membership is the setting up of the New Development Bank and the notion of making use of domestic currencies for trade with a vast range of nations in this bloc. If all BRICS member states stand in unison, turning their dreams into reality will not take that long.
BY ADDISALEM MULAT
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2024
