France Will Support Rehabilitation, Humanitarian Projects in Ethiopia: Ambassador Maréchaux

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Addis Ababa March 25/2022 /ENA/ The French government is committed to support rehabilitation efforts and humanitarian projects in conflict and drought affected communities in Ethiopia, according to Ambassador Maréchaux of France.

French Ambassador to Ethiopia Rémi Maréchaux told ENA that as a friend and long standing partners,“we must express very concrete solidarity in time of crisis by first providing humanitarian assistance for all Ethiopians affected by the crisis.”

According to him, there are humanitarian projects with the International Committee of the Red Cross in mainly Amhara, Tigray and Afar regions.

“We wish to go beyond this humanitarian action and that is why we are working, for instance, in the rehabilitation of Dessie Hospital which has been destroyed,” he added.

The Government of France has allocated 10 million Euros for rehabilitation and food security for the first six months of 2022, it was learned.

“We have the first allocation of also 10 million Euros, but that could go beyond when we are discussing with Ethiopian authorities. I think all friends of Ethiopia must mobilize the resources to support the peaceful resolution of the conflict and this includes effort for rehabilitation and reconstruction.”

Commenting on the measures being taken by the Government of Ethiopia to bring peace in the country, the ambassador said “we salute and encourage these measures.”

When the government declared unilateral ceasefire last June, we had expressed the French support to the initiative, Ambassador Maréchaux added.

He further stated that France supports the initiative of the national inclusive dialogue, and “we stand ready to support the government or any other actors to the dialogue.”             

On the other hand the ambassador also highlights Ethiopia’s contribution to peace and stability in the region.

The ambassador, who mentioned the long standing bilateral ties between the two countries, stated that for France the relation with Ethiopia is unique in the African continent.   

“At present, we are working to celebrate the very long standing relations that have been built over the past 125 years in order to plan together for the future to agree on common projects... We work on many subjects that are the core of the bilateral relations. We work on education, technology, and culture, among others.”

Ambassador Maréchaux revealed that there are several priorities we will see in the days and weeks to come. Some projects being launched. That is the case in the field of energy, especially the geothermal electricity production, logistic, and agro-business sectors.

The restoration of Lalibela has also resumed and a French expert team redeployed to Lalibela working first on emergency restoration measures. The plan is to propose and work together with Ethiopian authorities for sustainable solution.

France is again very much involved in the transformation of National Palace into a museum in which the civil work should start in May 2022.  

Ethiopian News Agency
2023