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| Culture & Press Division >Culture & Event> | ||||||
| Professor Hirano holds Special Public Lecture at Mekele and Addis Ababa Universities |
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On 07 and 08 March 2011, the Embassy of Japan together with the Japan Foundation organized a public lecture on the Recent Development of Economic Relations between Africa and Asia at Mekele and Addis Ababa universities respectively. Based on the interest of the government of Ethiopia to learn from the Asian success stories, the Embassy invited Professor Katsumi Hirano, Director General of the Area Studies Center in Japan. Professor Hirano specializes in African Area Studies. The introduction for his presentation read, “While China’s active policy toward Africa has gathered global interest, East Asia asa region is now preparing to connect with Africa. Not only China but also the expanding regional economies of East Asia definitely need more collaboration with African counterparts. African affairs among Asian people will become a global matter.” Professor Hirano explained that the main drive behind the Ethiopian economy is the expansion of private consumption. He said consumption will create a good turning point for the Ethiopian economy as it creates a big market and business opportunities. While speaking to some local media correspondents on the current Ethiopian economy, Professor Hirano recalled that he once met Prime Minister Meles Zenawi who explained to him about the Agricultural Development Led Industrialization (ADLI). He said ADLI is not at a disadvantage especially in the current economic situation where food prices are increasing on the global market. He also commented that Ethiopia has the potential to attract Foreign Direct Investment as it has cheap labor. However, Professor Hirano underlined the need to assist farmers in order to bring about good agricultural production. “Japan is the biggest supplier of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to a broad base of sectors in a wise and humanitarian way. Nowadays, Japan suffers from economic stagnation. Therefore, it is imperative to revitalize the Japanese economy by strengthening economic relations between Japan and Africa”, Professor Hirano said. |
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