Original title:
Non-media article The Belt and Road Initiative has injected impetus into Ethiopia's development
Reference News Network, December 8** All Africa News Network recently published an article written by Mahmoud your Hassan Khan, entitled "The Belt and Road Initiative and Ethiopia - A Way Forward", the article is excerpted as follows:
Ethiopia is a pioneer in China-Africa cooperation. China** is committed to supporting Ethiopia in achieving its development aspirations through the Belt and Road Initiative and other initiatives. Clearly, the two countries are steadily promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, initiating meaningful cooperation under the Global Development Initiative, and promoting the implementation of the Nine Projects under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.
With its abundance of minerals, metals, agriculture, infrastructure development, the blue economy, and – most importantly – industrialization and human capital, Africa is a place of hope for future global development.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy envisioned Africa as an emerging economic and political bloc. Therefore, Ethiopia will play an important role in further expanding the Belt and Road Initiative in Africa's development.
In this regard, Ethiopia is a window to strengthen regional connectivity, food security, and promote the export of renewable energy and mineral metals to the outside world.
There are reports that Ethiopia's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in 2023 is expected to reach 6%. This growth was mainly driven by strong fixed asset investment. In fact, in 2023, Ethiopia's GDP growth has already surpassed that of many countries in the region.
In 2024, this growth is expected to accelerate further to about 68%。Such a large increase is expected as private consumption gains momentum and foreign investment inflows increase.
Ethiopia's accession to the BRICS cooperation mechanism has greatly enhanced its economic development potential and global influence, and strengthened the impetus for the country's industrialization and infrastructure development.
Close cooperation in the field of TVET is essential for high-quality China-Ethiopia cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. This partnership marks an important step towards achieving the goals of a robust capacity-building mechanism.
At the Ethiopia-China Investment Forum in China in October 2023, Ethiopia expressed strong support for the Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative has achieved substantial results thanks to the fruitful cooperation between Ethiopia and China.
Near Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, a test train travels on the Addis Ababa Railway. (Xinhua News Agency).
Interestingly, Ethiopia attributes its rapid growth over the past years to investment from China. China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has revolutionized Ethiopia's infrastructure development. These investments are now flourishing in the form of roads, bridges and railways. In addition, in the past 10 years, the Belt and Road Initiative has been one of the main forces driving the vigorous development of Ethiopia's infrastructure construction and manufacturing industry, and has also created a large number of employment opportunities for Ethiopian youth.
Ethiopia has identified five priority investment sectors for bilateral cooperation, including agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing, tourism, information and communication technology, and mining. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has further developed the potential of these important economic sectors in Ethiopia.
The Belt and Road Initiative has become an open, inclusive, mutually beneficial and win-win international cooperation platform between China and Ethiopia. It has effectively supported and optimized Ethiopia's national transportation system. The system is contributing to regional connectivity, national income and GDP growth.
In this regard, the Chinese built 752The 7-kilometer Ethiopia-Djibouti Standard Gauge Railway (Djibouti-Djibouti Railway) has become a landmark large-scale project of the Belt and Road Initiative, and has also injected vital impetus into Ethiopia's development.
In addition, the Ajibouti-Djibouti Railway is not only a transport line, but also a transformative transport economic corridor and a path to socio-economic prosperity. Obviously, it opened up a railway corridor to the sea for Ethiopia, effectively driving the development of industrialization and urbanization in the areas along the route.
In conclusion, the bilateral relationship between Ethiopia and China is complementary, thus transforming opportunities into real potential, and real potential into progress and prosperity. China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has become a mutually beneficial cooperation platform for the economic and social development of Ethiopia and beyond. (Compiled by Zhu Jie).
*: Refer to the news network.