BY DANIEL ALEMAYEHU
Talking about prosperity in multiple aspects, African continent has been stepping forward to make its dreams come true. As the continent is endowed with many resources, all the rest of the continents have been showing their interest in working with the African continent.
As a matter of fact, the African continent, nowadays, has founded the right corner stone to its future growth. This time, apart from living in harmony with the rest of the continents as the major provider of resources, African nations and leaders of states are in a firm stance in carrying out the process of building continental partnership among African nations. Here, the question of regional and continental integrations comes along.
It is the fact that African nations’ lives are under one big institution called the African Union to show its strength and unity to the outer world. In this case, there are some countries that are working hard to become a beacon of change and integrity. In this regard, the case of Ethiopia could be the best example for the expected objectives to become a success story.
The Government of Ethiopia has been in a better position and self obliged to be the engine of the coming change that is expected to be continental. Such burden, by default, comes to Ethiopia as the nation is the capital of the African Union and other similar international institutions.
Not only that, the country is seen and has been the sign of freedom to most African nations in their struggle for freedom from under the shackles of colonization. The best part was that Ethiopia was the muscle in the struggle to escape from colonization that Africans paid their blood and bones for colonial emancipation.
In the modern world, the East African country, Ethiopia, has to keep its name shining above all the odds. Being a role model to the rest of Africa, Ethiopia has been implementing major plans and strategies in order to facilitate the regional and continental integration. As a result, the nation has taken steps towards multiple destinations and reaped its hard work fruits.
Amidst the challenges that the whole world has been encountered, Ethiopia has tested itself no matter how big the problems could be. Those global challenges in the past three hard years could not stop the nation from achieving its goals. Coupled with managing the aftermath of the challenges, the nation has been working together with the rest of African nations for unified objectives and integrity.
Talking about integration, Ethiopia has kept building positive economic partnerships with its neighboring countries and the rest of Africa. Parallel with the continent bigger objectives, Ethiopia has been playing its part in the realization of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). As Ethiopia is the founding member of the African Union, it is its duty to take action on the continental free trade area.
Accordingly, the nation has established free trade area in the country, to be specific in Dire Dawa. Besides, the country has been working on constructing road and railways that help the nation connect with its neighboring countries such as Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan among others. This helps Ethiopia to have better economic partnerships that also keeps the peace in the region.
In good truth, Ethiopia has kept showing its firm stance regarding living in harmony and peace with its neighbors. History teaches that Ethiopia has no record of conquering any other nation though invaded by other states several times. The concrete reason behind all these is the nation wants to live in peace.
A simple example could be the nation’s unfettered stance witnessed in the case of the construction of Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) or the Abbay Dam. The Government of Ethiopia has still shown its interest in equitable utilization of resources and equity of benefits though the downstream nations have crafted skewed narration to the world. In this regard, the nation has paid an arm and a leg to finalizing the dam project.
The nation is trying to explain the fact that how the Dam could benefit the neighboring nations in numerous scenarios. According to the report announced by the Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) that a number of East African countries including Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Somalia have shown strong desire to purchase electricity from Ethiopia.
In addition, MoWE Senior Energy Advisory Gossaye Mengiste said, “Our neighbors do not have sufficient renewable energy, but we have a large hydropower potential. Therefore, we want to capitalize on such a comparative advantage in the hydro energy. Upon completion, the Dam will strengthen continental integration and enhance Ethiopia’s role in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in reliable power supply.”
Coupled with the regional economic integration that the nation has built with its neighbors, Ethiopia is still achieving best in forming concrete diplomatic ties with both neighboring and distant nations. The nation has signed a number of agreements and Memorandum of Understandings with different countries to achieve holistic objectives such as countering terrorism.
In the past many times, the Government of Ethiopia has been represented by the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) and his delegation and visited numerous nations to establish a firm partnership. The Premier’s delegation has been in China, Rome, France, and the like to keep the positive vibe going on.
Within the continent of Africa, Ethiopia has also contacted different nations for establishing strong ties. Of which the Ethiopian government has established ties, Eritrea, South Africa, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan could be examples. Further, the Ethiopian Government has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with South Africa to bolster economic and political partnership besides enhancing the tourism sector.
To this end, such diplomatic ties with African nations and countries outside Africa have a number of strategic advantages. Such partnerships are aimed at establishing positive collaboration in economic, political, and social circumstances. Some of those partnerships are aimed at creating strong bond with neighboring nations to counter terrorism brush regional and continental challenges off. Partnerships like these have the ability to make Ethiopia one of the powerful nations in Africa.
In relation to building societal bond among African peoples, Ethiopia has also had plenty stories to tell the world. As the nation is the seat of many international and regional organizations, the movement of people across the country is inevitable.
As a result, Ethiopia has been acting as a home of the world. Besides, Ethiopia is a hub of many international diplomats, delegations, and citizens; the nation has also been a home for many immigrants and refugees from different neighboring nations. In fact, the nation incorporates numerous nations and nationalities in its territory but it still is capable of hosting other differences though it is fighting inconveniences appeared from ethnic politics that extremists blow within the nation.
All in all, Ethiopia is still trying to keep flying the flags that made the nation the beacon of emancipation and prosperity. Ethiopia has been playing its part in realization of the bigger objective set by the African Union to create the Africa We Want.
Though African continent is experiencing multiple ups and downs that made the road to success hard to achieve, nations like Ethiopia should be front liners to be role model on coping up the challenges and finding success. Of course, there are bumpy roads that pulled the continent down from going forward, but Ethiopia has shown that if there is the will, there is a way. Ethiopia continues to be a major factor in the process of realizing continental integration.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 18 APRIL 2023
