Addis Ababa, Chinese President Xi Jinping has commended Ethiopia’s achievements through the Green Legacy program.
President Xi Jinping made the remark during his bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held this morning at the Great Hall of the People together with their respective delegations.
During the bilateral meeting President Xi congratulated the Prime Minister on Ethiopia’s accession to BRICS.
The president also announced the elevation of partnership between the two countries from Comprehensive and Enduring Strategic Cooperative Partnership level to an All Weather Strategic Cooperation Partnership level.
He further commended Ethiopia’s achievements through the Green Legacy program citing its alignment with China’s green development policy and affirmed it will be an integral part of a green belt and road.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed indicated the importance of Chinese investments in Ethiopia’s economy and encouraged more investments into the five key pillars of agriculture, manufacturing, ICT, mining and Tourism.
“China continues to be a critical partner for Ethiopia. Gratitude to President Xi Jinping for the warm welcome and the fruitful discussion” the premier said.
He added that Ethio-China relations have set a constructive model for China-Africa and South-South cooperation.
“We can build on this model to effectively address our current and future development challenges in the new era,” Abiy twitted.
The Green Legacy Initiative, launched in 2019, has been helping Ethiopia to build capacity vital to realizing its vision of mitigating the challenges of climate change and ensure food security.
The first phase of the Initiative was successful in which the nation was able to plant 25billion seedlings in four years.
Ethiopia has set plan to plant another 25 billion seedlings in the second phase of the Initiative in four years beginning from 2023.
Prime Minister Abiy is in China for an Official State Visit and to attend the third Belt and Road Initiative Forum for International Cooperation.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
