Association Working to Enhance Diaspora Contribution

Addis Ababa July 22/2018 The Ethiopian Diaspora Association said it is working to mobilize the Diaspora in order to improve their contribution to the ongoing reform. The Association, which was established in 2012, works to improve engagement of the Diaspora in the development of the country in collaboration with the government. According to Executive Director of the Association, Abraham Sium, it is high time for the Diaspora to enhance contribution to their country. He urged the Diaspora to take advantage of the situation in order to build their dream country, saying it is time for Ethiopians across the world to play their role. Recalling the call from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for the Diaspora to be part of the development of the country, Abraham urged them to accept the call be and play their role. “Everybody must come to the table and we have to talk about the common agenda of our country,” he said.   “We have to stand together without any difference as we all are Ethiopians and we have to stand together for the development of our country. The approach the government is taking right now is good for Ethiopians in foreign lands and as we are in a new era with the reforms,” he said. However, Abraham emphasized the need to have a favorable environment particularly a system in order for the Diaspora to effectively contribute their share. “We have to create good system to enable the Diaspora to effectively contribute to the economic development of the country. For instance when somebody come and do something in the university, the system must be clear,” he stressed. Chairman of Ethiopian Diaspora Association, Idris Mohammad for his part noted the existence of enabling situation in the country that would help to boost the contribution of the Diaspora. He mentioned the sweeping reform being taking place in the country and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s prospective visit to the U.S. as some of the situations that could create enabling environment. He said Prime Minister Abiy’s visit, which would be the first of its kind for an Ethiopian leader, reflects the government’s commitment to engage the Diaspora community in development. Prime Minister Abiy will travel to the U.S. at the end of this month to meet with Ethiopians in the Diaspora to discuss on ways of enhancing their contribution to the country’s development. Idris urged Ethiopian Diasporas to take advantage of this opportunity and be part of the effort towards building greater Ethiopia. Saying that the Diasporas have been encountering problems while trying to invest in Ethiopia, the chairman expressed hope that the ongoing reform would bring solution to the challenges. Noting that the Diasporas have been contributing in various areas through knowledge and experience sharing, and investment, he said it will be consolidated further. “This is just the beginning; and has to be strengthened,” he said. The Ethiopian Diaspora, which was characterized by protest, and division, has now changed as the result of the recent reforms. Dr. Getaneh Mehari, Anthropologists at Addis Ababa University noted that there is a shift among the Diaspora community. He emphasized the need to maintain the momentum. He urged the need to learn from the practice of other countries to properly mobilize Diaspora community to support their homeland economic development. “We have famous highly trained physician working in different parts of the world and we have other people well trained in Information communication technology, engineering, social science, economist and banking in all over the world,” he added.   “It is possible to mobilize this massive Diaspora community through encouraging and supporting them to come back home   and support the economic development process. This is a big resource that we have, so if we have good political atmosphere, incentives for encouraging in the country then people tend to come and support their country using their knowledge and resources.” Mobilizing the Diasporas should be a priority as they have the capacity to support the reform and overall development of the country, he added.