The Sunday News
ETHIOPIA is working on ways of using its good diplomatic relations with Zimbabwe as a basis for closer trade and economic interaction, Ambassador Koang Dung said.
Speaking at the reception of Ethiopian carnival participants at the Harare International Airport on Wednesday last week, Ambassador Dung said the two countries had long historical relations that date back to the struggle against white minority rule but there was a need to increase trade in a bid to improve economic interaction.
“There is currently very little economic activity between Zimbabwe and Ethiopia despite the diplomatic relations we have. Our embassy is trying to link up business people to improve our economic interaction as there is a lot we can benefit from each other,” said Ambassador Dung.
The only economic interaction that exists is with the Ethiopian Airline.
He said Ethiopia exhibited at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo and their leather products generated a lot of interest.
Ambassador Dung said Zimbabwe had good manufacturers especially of agriculture equipment and seed.
“Ethiopia can import agriculture tools from Zimbabwe as we have a vibrant coffee industry and Zimbabwe also has good seed companies hence we can benefit from buying seed here,” he said.
Speaking on the Harare International Carnival that started on 16 May and ends today, Ambassador Dung said it was a good event to showcase Zimbabwe and African culture.
Ethiopia participated at the inaugural event last year where they came out as second runners-up among 101 local and international groups.
“There is a lot that has been said about African integration and the carnival is a platform to do that as people tend to co-operate more and there is frequent exchange of ideas. With this frequent exchange of ideas, integration then becomes a reality,” he said.
He said culture was an important aspect as without culture, a country or person had no identity.
“Africa should preserve and reserve its culture despite the rural to urban migration that is taking place. As governments it is our duty to make living in rural areas more comfortable to reduce the speed of migration,” he said.
Speaking on the connection between culture and tourism, Ambassador Dung said the two were related, with his country having huge potential for tourism as it has nine heritage sites certified by Unesco.
He, however, said Ethiopia had not been able to exploit fully its tourism potential and was working on ways to rectify that hence the participation of the group at the Harare International Carnival.
“Our tourist arrivals have been increasing. Tourism has been generating at least US$2 billion a year for Ethiopia but we need to do more to promote it. Participating at the carnival is part of promoting cultural tourism,” he said.
Head of Ethiopian delegation from the Ethiopia National Theatre, Mrs Haregewoin Assefa, who is also an actress hailed Zimbabwe as a beautiful country with friendly people.
She said her country would continue participating at the carnival as showcasing culture was vital.
“In Ethiopia we have six main events a year, we do not call them carnivals but we celebrate each culture and every tribe in their different areas. We have 81 tribes and each tribe has its own fete,” said Mrs Assefa.
The Ethiopian delegation consisted of musicians and dancers with 14 songs and dances prepared for the carnival that reflected all regions’ tradition.
Popular artistes included Asrebeb Tadge from Northern Ethiopia, Kebede Lema from the Southern side as well as Senayt Imaryan from the Eastern side of Ethiopia.
