China, Ethiopia reiterate commitment to taking bilateral relations to new level

China, Ethiopia reiterate commitment to taking bilateral relations to new level

ADDIS ABABA, April 9 (Xinhua) -- China and Ethiopia have reiterated their commitment to further strengthen their bilateral relations and deepen overall cooperation established between them.

This came on Thursday at the reception for assumption of duty by La Yifan, the 13th Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia, in the 45- year diplomatic ties between the two countries.

China and Ethiopia are enjoying excellent relations at the levels of government-to-government, party-to-party, people-to- people, and business-to-business, said the officials from the two sides.

"This all-round partnership in multi-level and wide-range fields has proved to be an excellent model of China-Africa and South-South cooperation," noted the Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia.

The ambassador expressed China's commitment to further enhancing the bilateral relations with Ethiopia towards achieving common development goals and realizing dreams of the respective countries.

"We will continue to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, deepen the economic and trade cooperation, and promote cultural and people-to-people communication," said La.

Stating that China and Ethiopia enjoy high complementary advantage in economic development, which pose huge potentials in industrialization cooperation, the ambassador said China is willing to support Ethiopia to develop into African center of manufacturing, regional transportation, and model in addressing poverty.

Ethiopia completes this year the implementation of the five year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) and is preparing to launch the second GTP.

"To resonate with GTP II to be proclaimed by the Ethiopian Government, we will relocate China's high quality industry and surplus industrial capacity to support Ethiopia's industrialization endeavor. In the process we can achieve win-win result, mutual benefit and common development," he noted.

Speaking on the occasion, Berhane Gebre-Christos, Ethiopia's State Minister of Foreign Affairs, expressed his country's commitment to further strengthening the long-standing historic relations between Ethiopia and China.

He said the relation between the two countries is flourishing at the levels of government-to-government, party-to-party, people- to-people, and business-to-business.

"The cooperation between the two countries is expanding and deepening from time to time," noted Berhane.

Ethiopia and China have been deepening their cooperation with different meetings and high-level exchanges between them, said the State Minister.

China is supporting Ethiopia's relentless efforts in alleviating poverty and achieving economic growth, he said, adding that China has been cooperating with Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular in the areas of infrastructure, connectivity, and manufacturing.

"Ethiopia remains thankful for China's unwavering support to Ethiopia's economic and social development," said the State Minister.

Berhane also stated that Ethiopia has set a vision of achieving a middle-income economy by 2025, and the country has successfully implemented its five-year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP).

He also mentioned that the country is currently preparing to launch the GTP II.

Source:  globalpost.com