BY ADDISALEM MULAT
Ethiopia and Japan have been strengthening their political, economic, or cultural relations over the years. Against this background, the ties between the prominent countries of the Horn Africa and the Far East have grown to be stronger in recent years owing to the personalities like Hordofa Bekele.
The growing momentum has been drawing admiration from the Japanese government lately.
“The Year 2020 has come to an end. It has been a tumultuous year for the world and Africa, as well as for Ethiopia and Japan. The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed so many lives, caused economic and social turmoil, and drastically changed lives worldwide. Swarms of desert locusts have inflicted severe damage across the African continent.
The situation in the Tigray region and its neighboring states continue to draw our attention,” said ITO Takako, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, in an article she published in The Ethiopian Herald.
She stressed that yet, this is also the year that marked the 90th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-Ethiopia Treaty of Amity and Commerce, and the 65th anniversary of the resumption of our bilateral diplomatic relations after World War II. Despite a great number of restrictions on our activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic etc., we have managed to continue our cooperative relationship in many areas.
She elucidated that in January, the second round of the conference for infrastructure investment in Ethiopia was held in Addis Ababa. More than 20 Japanese companies participated, together with government representatives from both countries and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for “quality infrastructure” development in Ethiopia was signed.
When Japanese business people and aid workers in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa were planning to return to Japan amid the COVID-19 pandemic in April, their trips became possible thanks to Ethiopian Airlines’ sustained flight services across Africa and Japan, and with the help of the Ethiopian Government.
It was also in April that Japan’s then-Prime Minister ABE Shinzo of Japan and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali (PhD) of Ethiopia held their first summit via telephone.
PM ABE expressed his gratitude for the Ethiopian Government’s assistance in the departure of Japanese Nationals on Ethiopian Airlines and explained Japan’s measures in response to COVID-19.
With its commitment to the expansion of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Africa Health and Wellbeing Initiative at TICAD7 and its support for the Ethiopian Government’s COVID-19 response, Japan formalized its grant aid of over USD 13.6 million at a signing ceremony in July.
This aid program will provide medical equipment that will enhance measures for the fight against infectious diseases, including COVID-19, among others, and strengthen the health care system in Ethiopia
Japan has also provided over USD 30 million to the WFP for the purchase and transport of over 72,000 metric tons of wheat to meet the most essential food needs of 3.8 million vulnerable people in Ethiopia. This assistance will help reduce the estimated food shortage caused mainly by COVID-19 and the current desert locust outbreak.
Human resource development is one area in which Japan excels, and it has been contributing in this area in Ethiopia for a long time through such measures as providing Japanese Government scholarships to Ethiopian students to study in Japan, and by dispatching Japanese experts to Ethiopia and receiving Ethiopian trainees in Japan through the programs of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
“We have still managed to continue the Japanese Government’s Scholarship program and the ABE Initiative (African Business Education Initiative for Youth, consisting of Master’s Degree programs combined with Internship requirements) to promising young Ethiopians,” she further told the commitments of her country.
In the area of security and defense, Japan and Ethiopia continue their cooperative project, as seen in the Dialogue, Negotiation and Mediation Course held by the Peace Support Training Institute under the Peace Keeping Center, in collaboration with the UNDP. This is one of Japan’s contributions to its New Approach for Peace and Stability in Africa (NAPSA), announced during TICAD 7, held last year in Yokohama, Japan.
Of late, The Ethiopian Herald had a short stay with Hordofa Bekele who received Japanese ‘The order of the Rising Sun Award.’ He is the former Deputy Chairperson of the Ethio-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group and incumbent Member of the House of Peoples’ Representatives who contributed to fostering our bilateral relations and promoting a mutual exchange between our respective members of parliament.
He has touched upon a wide spectrum of issues revolving around a wide range of bilateral relations that have been taking place between Ethiopia and Japan. Excerpts:
How does it feel to win an award?
It is abundantly clear that when one gets an award, it makes one feels infinitely happy beyond a shadow of a doubt. As I won the award following the contribution I have made in fostering bilateral relations between Ethiopia and Japan and promoting a mutual exchange between our respective members of parliament, I felt on top of the world and over the moon.
Needless to say, award makes human beings feel privileged, jubilant, and delighted, and so forth. To cut a long story short, I would venture to say, the award is a big achievement.
How do you see the Ethio-Japan ties, and what were your main contributions in fostering these relations?
It is abundantly clear that the bilateral relations between the two countries harken back to the time where Abebe Bikila Olympic Marathon’s Victory have won the hearts and minds of the entire world within the shortest possible timeframe. Other than that, history dictates that Ethiopia and Japan embarked on establishing ties around 1961.
However, slowly but surely, the bilateral relations between Ethiopia and Japan kept on growing every once in a while in social, economic, and political spheres and accomplishing the desired goals. This being the case, the bilateral ties between the two countries have been grown stronger heading in the right direction.
As long as I possibly can, I have pulled out all the stops to come to the table in upgrading the relationship between the two countries. I have the nerve to say, against this background, I have played an important role.
Particularly I was able to unleash maximum effort to take the two countries’ ties to a new height.
As a matter of fact, among other things, I have played a role in introducing the Kaizen philosophy in Ethiopia. I tried to scale up the expansion of kaizen in Ethiopia and presided over its implementation.
What is your take on the relation between the two countries at parliamentary levels?
I was awarded partly for the role played in boosting the relationship between respective parliaments of the two countries. I used to serve as Deputy Chairperson of the Ethio-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group.
I would even go so far as to say, parliamentary diplomacy has made the two countries grow better and move in the right direction.
In the same manner, we have been putting a broad assortment of activities into effect in parliaments at different times. While on the subject, Japan managed to transform the lives of its people taking advantage of the philosophy of Kaizen which is beneficial to workforces, consumers, and administrations in a general sense.
In the same vein, the new philosophy distinguishes and rewards the efforts of employees and gives them a sense of worth in the organization.
On a side note, Kaizen has a paramount role in taking Japan to new heights of success at the earliest possible time.
Along the same lines, Ethiopian and Japan attached considerable importance to social, economic, and political spheres more than ever before. In more concert terms, the bilateral relations between the two countries have been growing once in a great while in various aspects of diplomatic relations that can take the two countries relations to new horizons.
On the basis thereof, we exchange a considerable amount of ideas clapping eyes on various issues that can further cement ties between the two countries.
Along the same lines, aside from taking advantage of the two countries’ ties, we have been putting various channels in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to sort out things and achieve mutual understanding.
What lessons can Ethiopia learn from Japan as the latter managed to transform itself into a prosperous nation?
It goes without saying that Japanese people have passed through a wide spectrum of development stages before they reached where they are in the present day. If truth be told, the philosophy of kaizen takes the biggest role in the development of Japan. There are lots of important lessons that we can emulate from Japan, a once poverty-stricken country now turned developed nation.
It is no hyperbole to say everyone without exception work in Japan by the sweat of their brow for the economic growth and development of their country, and take their country to new frontiers. More often than not, they attach importance to their country’s growth. They give priority to their motherland. We learn a lot from Japan.
Just to mention but a few, we learn a considerable degree of issues in terms of quality technology, quality education, time management, and things of that sort.
For the sake of truth, the people of Japan were able to transform their country in this regard. Furthermore, Japan has been supporting Ethiopia in a wide spectrum of ways such as health, education, offering professional training, and other related aspects.
Similarly, as the Japanese instructors are known for teaching engineering fields, we have been making an exchange of knowledge and technology transfers and what have you.
Above and beyond, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funnels more than 100 million dollars a year to Ethiopia. Following our strong ties with Japan, we managed to secure a lot of advantages.
Speaking of which, Japan is moving in the right direction seeing that Toyota Motor Corporation has been playing a major role in transforming the economy of Japan. Once we had the opportunity to pay a visit to the company. It was a remarkable one. The biggest Toyota assembling factory in Africa is found in Kenya. We have been as well making an effort to embolden this anchor company to invest in Ethiopia too.
How committed have you been in providing information and giving the right picture of the concluded law enforcement operation in the Tigray state to the international community?
At the outset, it is crystal clear that the TPLF clique attacked the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces that has been situated in the Tigray region. Before they embarked on getting themselves involved in this evil act, they were persistently partaking in hostile acts.
Likewise, the TPLF junta officials were constantly subsidizing, training as well as equipping their clique with a significant amount of activities to thwart the ongoing transformation surfacing in every nook and cranny of the country. Customarily, they played a part in sowing the seeds of hatred amid the various Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples of Ethiopia along ethnic and religious lines.
They claimed to have adopted their voting law, established their voting commission, and coordinated fake and unlawful voting in which it won all the seats in the Regional Council.
Flipping back to the gist, as diplomats would like to know the nuts and bolts of the law enforcement operation; they pose a wide spectrum of questions. By the way, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been showering them making use of its diplomatic channels from time to time.
As a parliament standing committee when the need arises we provide them with the necessary information without batting an eye. They all know the reality on the ground like the back of their hands given that they have heard the TPLF junta officials saying using their media outlets, “We managed to unleash lightning strike on Northern Command.”
This word of betrayal has been used as proof against the Junta. And the international community had no option but to understand the hostility of the cliques.
They do want civilians to be protected against attack, and human rights not to be violated. They believe that the law enforcement operation taken by the Ethiopian National Defense Force is the right decision.
The Ethiopian Herald January 23/2021
