Japanese official says Ethiopia’s democratic process is encouraging

Feb 15, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — The Japanese deputy minister for foreign affairs, Yasuhisa Shiozaki, lauded the current efforts under way to maintain good governance and democracy in Ethiopia. He further said the government is “trying to expedite the process of democracy”.

In an interview with the Ethiopian TV, Shiozaki said that efforts exerted by the government to bring about democracy is encouraging. He said he feels that the current activities under way in the country consolidates the basic democratic principles and hopes this to continue further.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Ethiopia is desirous to further strengthen its cooperation with Japan in trade and investment sectors.

During talks he held with Shiozaki, here on Wednesday, Meles said the bilateral cooperation between the two countries has grown from time to time.

He said the Japanese government is assisting Ethiopia in its infrastructural development activities. Meles said the people and government of Ethiopia appreciate the assistance being provided by the Japanese government for the construction of Gohatsion-Dejen Road and Abay Bridge (north-western Ethiopia) in particular.

He expressed hope that the Japanese government would continue to extend its assistance to Ethiopia.

Shiozaki told journalists after the talks that he had held talks with Ethiopian minister Meles Zenawi on TICAD (Tokyo International Conference on African Development) Conference, bilateral cooperation between the two countries and UN reform, among others.

He expressed hope that the TICAD conference, which would discuss ways of consolidating peace to bring about sustainable development in Africa, would help achieve important results.

TICAD is an organization run by the Japanese government and assisted by various UN bodies, the World Bank and Global Coalition for Africa and works for the development of Africa.

(ST)