Canada has granted 30 million USD to Ethiopia for the efforts of mitigating the El-Nino induced drought, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recently said.
The announcement came following the talks between Foreign Affairs Minister Tedros Adhanom and Canada’s Minister of International Development and La Francophone, Marie-Claude Bibeau yesterday on the sidelines of the International Conference on Universal Health Coverage in Tokyo, Japan.
During the meeting, Marie-Claude Bibeau announced her government’s decision to grant Ethiopia 30 million USD in addition to the 20 million USD that the Government of Canada previously disbursed.
She also assured Tedros that Canada remains committed to continued engagement and support.
Briefing his Canadian counterpart on the recent El-Nino induced phenomenon and the concomitant drought in Ethiopia, Foreign Affairs Minister Tedros said the Government of Ethiopia is exerting every effort to mitigate the current crisis and make sure that the drought does not lead to loss of human life.
He added that his government has intervened immediately with its own resources.
Asked about Ethiopia’s track record in the health sector, Tedros said “the country has managed a 69 percent cutback in maternal mortality; a two-third decline in under-five child mortality, a 90 percent decline in HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases.
In addition, the minister noted that there has been no generalized malaria epidemic.
The two sides also discussed ways to further bolster trade and investment ties, under which Tedros said Canadian companies and investors are most welcome to engage in mining, agro-processing sectors, including in areas of infrastructure development, such as wind, hydropower, geothermal and railway development.
Ethiopia and Canada share common goals in promoting peace and security in East Africa. Canada values Ethiopia’s contribution in trying to bring stability to Somalia,Sudan and South Sudan.
