ADDIS ABABA – United Arab Emirates Ambassador to Ethiopia Mohamed Salem Al-Rashdi said that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s visit to United Arab Emirates would comprehensively elevate the bilateral relations of the two countries and add fresh impetus to reach to optimal level of corporation.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald Ambassador Mohamed Salem noted that the visit will contribute to building bridges of communication between the leaderships of the two countries and reaching the stage of cooperation. Relations between countries grow by continuous communications, interaction and engagement, he added.
Mentioning that UAE’s investors’ engagement in Ethiopia and even the development support that UAE government provides to Ethiopia reached to advanced stages, he said that the visit promotes more collaboration and joint involvement to achieve more successes.
There are vital sectors on which the UAE focuses, such as energy, infrastructure and tourism, he added. As to him, the size of bilateral relations between Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates in the economic field is increasing from time to time and the total trade exchanges of the two doubled in the first ten months of the year 2019 reaching to 600 million USD which was merely around 300 million USD in 2009.
The volume of economic exchange over the past ten years amounted to more than six billion USD, Ambassador Mohamed Salem remarked. “The reforms carried out by the government are commensurate with the aspiration of the people to attain sustainable economic development, improve the standard of living and also eliminate poverty,” he opined.
And as long as the aim of the reform is to raise development rates, improve the standard of living and get rid of poverty, all countries must work for it to realize development goals. The other areas for bilateral cooperation between the two countries are related to the field of humanitarian and charitable works. UAE’s efforts to provide humanitarian aid around the world are not on the basis of religion or race. They are only humanitarian assistance. In this regard, a medical team of volunteers performed surgeries.
According to him, the assistance offered by Emirati charity organizations and foundations to Ethiopia over the previous years, included the launch of secondary model schools and the digging of wells to provide drinking water for over half a million people in the Ethiopian countryside.
Also a medical team of volunteers of Sharjah Charity International (SCI) of the UAE in cooperation with the UAE Embassy in Ethiopia launched its “Small Hearts Campaign” to perform free catheterization for children in 15 Jan 2020, at the Children Heart Fund of Ethiopia (CHFE). The team started its operations, they screened more than 30 cases and selection was made for cardiac catheterization and open heart surgeries.
UAE hopes, the economic reform undertaken by the government would attract foreign investment and it will put the country on the paths of real development. “In this way, we can together strengthen economic relations,” he concluded.
The Ethiopian Herald February 12/2020
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
