Ethiopia, China agree to cement cooperation in areas of culture, tourism

Addis Ababa, November 17, 2023 (FBC) – Worknesh Birru, State Minister, Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and her delegation met with Guo Jun, Vice Chairman of the Economic and Social Council of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (C.P.P.C.C.) and his team on Friday in Beijing.

The state minister and her delegation were accompanied by Ambassador Dewano Kedir, Deputy Head of the Mission at the Ethiopian Embassy in China.

The meeting mainly focused on how to further strengthen the relationships between Ethiopia and China in the areas of tourism, culture, and sports.

The State Minister thanked the Vice Chairman and his team for the invitation and hospitality they have shown to her delegation.

She indicated that China is like home for Ethiopians, not only because both countries share long-term relations but also because of their connectivity, and she encouraged Chinese people to feel the same whenever they visit Ethiopia.

In addition to that, she said Ethiopia is hoping to build a China-Africa tower in Addis Ababa, which will represent the symbolic relations between the two countries, and she asked for assistance from the Chinese side.

HAmbassador Dawano Kedir also paid his gratitude to the Chinese counterpart for arranging the meeting and invitation of the state minister.

He said that Ethiopia will deepen its cooperation with China in the areas of tourism, culture, and sports.

“China is a good friend to Ethiopia, and therefore, it’s good for us to deepen our experience sharing in culture and tourism. Our leaders have uplifted our relations to all weather strategic partnerships during the BRI forum, and we need to bring it to the grass root level by enhancing people-to-people relations,” he said.

Guo Jun, for his part, pointed out that China and Ethiopia are all-weather friends witch a historical and longstanding relationship.

He also mentioned that he agreed to cooperate with the Ministry of Tourism in order to promote people-to-people relations between China and Ethiopia.

He said China is a country with a large population as Ethiopia has the second-largest population in Africa, stressing the need to forge cooperation between the two countries in tourism sector.

He further said that Ethiopia needs to link up with the top Chinese travel agencies and social media in order to promote its tourist attraction sites. He added that his government is ready to assist Ethiopia in this regard.

The two sides agreed to work together in the areas of culture, sports and tourism sectors.