thiopia is working hard to build a better image to attract the investment it so desperately needs. The business-friendly administration in Addis Ababa is working hard to promote the country as one of Africa’s big opportunity areas. With a population over 60 million, and a wealth of natural resources, it has plenty to offer.

Private sector is growing fast, but lacks the financial muscle to thrive

Yet many still know Ethiopia only for famine and starvation, a place of natural disasters. The two-and-a-half-year conflict with neighboring Eritrea, which ended peacefully in December 2000, was another major setback.

The U.S. has been a strong supporter of the east African country during times of need, when recurrent droughts have raised the spectre of famine and mass displacement. It is still helping in the fight against starvation and poverty, as well as assisting in the development of local institutions and the democratization process through USAID and other organizations.

The current food crisis could be worse than the 1984 famine that killed nearly a million. USAID has pledged more than 60,000 tonnes of food for Ethiopia, enough to feed more than 4.5 million people for a month.

	Girma Woldegiorgis President of Ethiopia
“It is time to work. We are not hibernating any more, we are out to sell Ethiopia”

But, in spite of the problems, things have moved on, says the country’s President, Girma Woldegiorgis. New investment legislation has been drawn up, mass privatization of state businesses is under way and there is a heavy emphasis on transparency. It is time the rest of the world altered its perceptions of the country accordingly.

“Ethiopia is getting back on its feet,” he says. “It is time to work. We are not hibernating any more, we are out to sell Ethiopia.”
Now there is a new role for the U.S. to play, one in which the private sector helps to bring capital, know-how and sustainable development to the country. The African Growth and Opportunities Act, enabling duty free exports to the U.S. market, is a welcome policy, he says.

President Woldegiorgis adds that the Ethiopian private sector is growing fast, but lacks the financial muscle to thrive. The support of foreign investors is therefore an important instrument in the country’s economic development.
“Our policy is to make the country as attractive as possible, in terms of incentives to foreign investors,” he says. “We are aware that there is competition within the continent, and we are willing to give all the incentives to attract them to Ethiopia.”
Addis Ababa already maintains a high international profile as the diplomatic capital of Africa. It is home to the Organization of African Unity and the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa, as well as a number of NGOs. It is also a force for stability in the still-troubled Horn of Africa region, where Somalia remains unsettled and largely ungoverned.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Seyoum Mesfin says U.S. support in the area of peace and security is vital. Ethiopia is playing a key role in the region by containing the unrest between warlords competing for power in Somalia, with which it shares a long land border. “We definitely need strong support from the U.S.,” he says. “This is a prerequisite for political and economic development.”

Mr. Mesfin spends much of his time traveling the world promoting Ethiopia’s new image, and believes the 500,000 Ethiopians living in the U.S. can play a meaningful part. Only by shifting attitudes can the government hope to persuade more people, including tourists, to come to the country – one of Africa’s oldest civilizations.
In 2003, Ethiopia celebrates 100 years of diplomatic relations with the U.S. and it is the right time for Americans to take stock of the relationship, says Mr. Mesfin.

“Ethiopia is in need of generous assistance from the U.S. government, its people and the NGO communities. But we want to see an end to this dependency on foreign assistance. Our call is for a strategic alliance and partnership on a sustainable basis.”