Addis Ababa, June 22, 2024 (FBC) – More than 100 experts, scholars, and diplomats exchanged ideas on Friday at Oromia State University (OSU) in Batu Town, Oromia regional state of Ethiopia, on improving public sector transformation, public service delivery, human resource development, and capacity building.
In his welcoming speech, Geremew Huluka, president of OSU and organizer of the event, said the university has played a vital role in the region’s development efforts by building the capacity of the regional government and providing training, reform, and consultancy. Now, its role is going beyond the region, and networking is even becoming global.
“Oromia State University has opened an opportunity for more than 60,000 leaders and public servants to at least move their level of education one step up. And now, we are opening the same opportunity to help the leaders and public servants move one step upper. That is to PhD level,” said Huluka.
For his part, Shen Qinmin, charge d’affaires at the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, shared with the audience the Chinese experience of poverty alleviation, the Chinese path to modernization, and China’s foreign policy.
“It is the hard-working public servants that have made the poverty alleviation of nearly 100 million Chinese a reality. We are now embarking on the Chinese path to modernization. It is the modernization of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature, and of peaceful development,” Shen said.
He also drew similarities between China and Ethiopia in public service delivery, indicating that both Chinese and Ethiopian public servants share the value of persistence, devotion, and patriotism.
“As all-weather strategic partners, China and Ethiopia are expected to enhance cooperation across the board, and I think there should be no exception in public servant development,” the Chinese diplomat stressed.
This two-day international research symposium, organized by OSU for the first time, features a wide range of activities, such as exhibitions, keynote speeches, discussions, and award ceremonies, among others. Guests from the diplomatic communities in the country, including the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia and the African Union, were invited to attend the event. Xinhua