The House of People’s Representatives (HoPR) 4th year term 3rd round ordinary session was held on Thursday in the presence of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD). PM Abiy clarified to the questions raised by the members of the parliament. Here are the main points raised by PM Abiy.
Ethiopia’s revival phase will start this year: PM Abiy
The national reform being carried out over the past six years brought outstanding triumphs across all sectors. Ethiopia has already finalized the reforms and this fiscal year will be the start of Ethiopia’s revival phase.
Ethiopia’s next phase targets sustaining the achievements registered by the reform and establishing a solid foundation for Ethiopia’s revival.
Ethiopia’s national interest in Red Sea
The world have to listen today, Ethiopia’s stance to have access to the Red Sea is unwavering. Ethiopia’s interest is to secure access to sea outlet through peaceful means with give-and-take principle.
Ethiopia has a legitimate national interest in the Red Sea. For a country with over 120 million populations, having access to waterways is a critical national issue. Countries of the region can use the resource-rich Red Sea as an opportunity for cooperation.
We seek access to the Red Sea in a peaceful manner. Our agenda is not about confrontation, but about ensuring economic growth and benefiting the Ethiopian people.
Ethiopia to build Africa’s largest airport
Ethiopia finalizes a study to build a new mega airport with the capacity of accommodating 130 million travelers annually. The new airport which is more than four times the capacity of the current Bole International Airport will be the largest airport in Africa.
The new airport will be located just 40 kilometers from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport and the two airports will be connected through train. Currently the Ethiopian Airlines has ordered 124 modern planes and efforts are underway to keep the growth of Ethiopian Airlines.
The Mega Airport City will feature a 1.1 million sq terminal including passenger facilities, 126,190 sqm of airline support facilities, and over 100,000 sq of cargo and airport support facilities.
Ethiopia’s plan is to register 8.4% growth this fiscal year
Ethiopia has registered 8.1% economic growth last fiscal year (2023/24 budget year). For this budget year, Ethiopia’s plan is to register 8.4% economic growth and the first quarter year performance aims to achieve the target.
The agriculture sector is expected to grow by 6.1%, the manufacturing sector is projected to grow by 12.8% and the service sector projected to grow by 7.1%. By cultivating 30 million hectares of land during winter and summer seasons, Ethiopia plans to harvest over 1.4 billion quintals of product.
Ethiopia’s FOREX reserve grows by 161%
The implemented macroeconomic reform brings meaningful achievements in Ethiopia especially in boosting export and FDI during the first quarter of this fiscal year. Following the reform, the country’s foreign exchange reserve grows by 161% within three months.
The reserve of the National Bank of Ethiopia registered 161% growth while the reserve of private banks grows by 29 %. Similarly, remittance shows 24% growth.
Ethiopia’s three months export earning reaches 1.5 billion USD
Ethiopia has secured 1.5 billion USD from export trade during the past three months. The target was 1.1 billion USD and due to the reform, the achievement exceeds the target.
Accordingly, Ethiopia has the potential to achieve 5 billion USD from export during this budget year. Coffee and gold played crucial role in increasing the export revenue during the first quarter of this fiscal year export.
FDI inflow also registers 6.4 percent growth during the past three months.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 2 NOVEMBER 2024
