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"CELEBRATING OVER ONE
HUNDRED YEARS OF ETHIOPIAN-UNITED STATES RELATIONS"
Historical Profile: While almost all of Africa remained under colonial rule or was still being explored by Europeans, a formal relationship was established between Ethiopia and the United States on December 27, 1903 by Emperor Menelik of Ethiopia and Commissioner Robert P. Skinner representing President Theodore Roosevelt of the United States. For centuries, Ethiopia remained suspicious of colonial powers that were continuously and actively engaged in the exploitation of Africa's vital resources and people. Ethiopian leaders found the United States to be far removed from all centers of colonial exploits and as far back as 1863, Ethiopian leaders made inquiries about the emerging nation on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean. They were excited and wondered whether they could, one day, align themselves with such a powerful nation in order to restrain European and Middle Eastern intrusion to acquire and bequeath land that rightfully belonged to Ethiopia. Emperor Menelik, the architect of the Ethiopia-United States relationship, saw the United States as a counterbalance to the European powers whose design was to weaken and eventually colonize his country. Thus the initial treaty between the two countries representing a truly historic diplomatic document was signed, known as the "Treaty of Amity and Commerce", which accorded Ethiopia the status of "Most Favored Nation" (MFN) and consequently led to full-fledged diplomatic relations. In subsequent years and decades, Emperors Menelik and Haile Selassie showed strong interest in the immediate promotion of Ethiopia's unique relationship with the United States. Ethiopia was once a superpower that played a significant political and economic role on the world stage. Its international ties extended to the far corners of the world. Over its long and storied history, Ethiopia prided itself on its great achievements in socio-political organization, arts, literature and science, as well as innovations in agriculture and engineering. Being an ancient civilization, Ethiopia among other things gave coffee and numerous grains and plants to the world. The foundation for this unique relationship was perhaps laid on the eve of 1896, when Ethiopia successfully stopped the European scramble for Africa at the gates of Adwa in northernmost Ethiopia. Indeed, it was this principled opposition to both European colonialism and totalitarianism that made the United States a natural and trusted ally of Ethiopia. Known as a country with a long history of independence, potential for trade, geographical significance and endowed with raw materials, Ethiopia definitely caught the attention of U.S. policy makers. These characteristics provided a stable background for the evolution of what would be a mutually beneficial, strategic convergence of interest between these two countries: Ethiopia, one of a few countries that can claim continued existence and history of over a millennium, and the United States, one of the youngest and most dynamic nations in the world. By and large, successive leaders of both countries have been keeping this important fact at the forefront of their foreign policy making. It is truly remarkable that the substance of this strategic partnership and shared destiny between the two countries has remained constant over more than a century. For instance, the United States greatly appreciated the support of Emperor Haile Selassie's moderating influence on the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now known as the African Union (AU). Likewise, Ethiopia stood behind the United States in its effort to strengthen the United Nations as a peace broker. Ethiopia participated in crucial peacekeeping and peace making missions in several hotspots of the then Cold War world. Through time, Ethiopia became a major recipient of U.S. economic, technical and military assistance. The United States helped with the consolidation and strengthening of the air force, navy and army, making the Ethiopian defense forces perhaps the best in sub-Saharan Africa, able to repulse any foreign-backed domestic insurgencies and external invasions alike. Over the century, there has been a deeper understanding and appreciation of the historical, geopolitical and strategic significance of the bond between the two countries. Moreover, more than one million Ethiopian-Americans are working very hard to revitalize and energize a greater Ethiopian-American friendship by building bridges that connect the two peoples ever closer. The vital interests of both Ethiopia and the United States have been kept alive and forged in times of both peace and adversity, and it is the fervent belief of many Ethiopians and Ethiopian-Americans that the United States, as in times past, will stand by Ethiopia as the two nations continue into the next one hundred years of an enduring partnership. Country Profile: The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia is the third most populated African country after Nigeria and Egypt with an estimated sixty-five million inhabitants. Ethiopia is fondly referred to as the land of kings and legends and is the oldest independent country in Africa as well as the original home of coffee. Ethiopia is a land-locked mountainous country that is bisected by the Great Rift Valley and is roughly twice the size of the state of Texas. It is geographically located in what is referred to as "the Horn of Africa" and is bordered on the north by Eritrea, on the east by Djibouti and Somalia, on the south by Kenya, and on the west by Sudan. More than half of the country is at high altitudes and its national capital, Addis Ababa at 2,450 meters above sea level, is the highest on the African continent. Addis Ababa is a cosmopolitan city whose Amharic name translates into the words "new flower". With the decision to make Addis Ababa the headquarters of the United Nation's Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU), it has become Africa's diplomatic capital.
An estimated 45% of the population is Orthodox Christians, another 45% are Muslims and the remaining 10% adhere to traditional ethnic beliefs. Ethiopia is a democratically-led nation with its Head of State, President Girma Wolde-Giyorgis and its Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi. In terms of political development, the Ethiopian Constitution, which was ratified in 1995, guarantees full civil and political democratic rights to all Ethiopians. The official language of Ethiopia is Amharic &endash; which has its own alphabet - but English is also widely spoken as the second official language. Other principal languages spoken in Ethiopia are Oromo, Tigrinya, Somali and Arabic. The national currency of the country is the Birr (US$1 = 8.55). Ethiopians are universally addressed by their first name even in formal situations. Ethiopia uses the Julian calendar, which is divided into 12 months of 30 days each and a 13th month of five or six days at the end of the calendar year, hence the famous slogan, "Ethiopia &endash; The Land of Thirteen Months of Sunshine". The Ethiopian calendar is 7 years and 3 months behind the Gregorian calendar.
Developmental Challenges: Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world based on its per capita income. Fortunately, Ethiopia is committed to fighting poverty, an enemy that far surpasses the threat of terrorism in the Horn of Africa region. Since the current government took power in 1991, it has instituted many positive changes towards the development of a free market economy, democracy and the rule of law. In 1991, Ethiopia implemented policies that began the massive shift from a state-controlled economy to a free market economy. Having inherited a devastating economy and an infrastructure is disrepair, the current government, with the continued support of the United States and other developmental partners, has begun to rebuild itself by building democratic institutions and introducing economic reforms to the country. For example, in these past few years, Ethiopia has made great strides in education and is one of the 23 countries that have been awarded fast track status under a recent World Bank initiative aimed at assisting developing countries in reaching the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by 2015. Another serious concern of Ethiopia is the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Ethiopia is one of the countries that is most heavily affected by this public health crisis. In response to this catastrophic threat to the health of its people, the government of Ethiopia has been proactively and aggressively applying its limited resources to combat HIV/AIDS. A national policy on AIDS has been formulated and put into action, and the head of state leads the National AIDS Council. Local and international organizations, including religious institutions, are working diligently with the government and Ethiopia's development partners to provide counseling, testing, education and anti-retroviral medicines to its people.
Economic Climate: Ethiopia adopted a National Development Plan to enhance agricultural productivity, improve rural infrastructure, encourage private investment, promote participation of the private sector in the economy, mobilize external resources, and pursue appropriate macro-economic and sectoral policies. It has also embarked on a program of economic reform, coupled with a phased privatization program and is an African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) eligible nation. Ethiopia's major trading partners are Germany, Japan, Italy, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, the United States, India and Russia. Agriculture currently accounts for 50% of the GDP, more than 90% of foreign earnings and over 80% of employment in Ethiopia. Coffee (arabica), cotton and sugar are major cash crops and food crops include cereals, particularly teff, maize and sorghum. Ethiopia's cattle population of around 30 million heads is by far the largest in Africa. Mineral resources include appreciable reserves of natural gas, gold, copper, zinc, potash and iron ore. Manufacturing is largely in processed foods, consumer goods and textiles for the home market, leather goods and handicrafts. Tourism is seen as a growth industry in the country with an abundance of cultural diversity, mountains, lakes, rivers and ancient cities.
Tourism Opportunities: Ethiopia is truly a land of great discovery &endash; a land of diverse geographical beauty and rich cultural history. The name Ethiopia is the most widely referenced African nation mentioned in the Bible and in fact ancient historians and cartographers referred to what little was known about Africa by the name of Ethiopia, which is of Greek origin and literally translated means "the land of the brown-skinned people". Religion has always been a major influence in Ethiopia, which was the first place in Africa to make Christianity a state religion. As stated, Ethiopia is mentioned 33 times in the Bible and many times in the Qu'ran. Perhaps this is the reason why so many visitors are drawn to Ethiopia by the colorful stories and fantastic tales to the land once known as Abyssinia. Ethiopia, also referred to as the "Holy Land" of Africa, is now being recognized by many African-American churches because of the remarkable manner in which ancient historical traditions have been preserved along with the discovery that Ethiopia has a rich legacy of religious art, found in churches and monasteries throughout the country. Indeed, the traditional religious ceremonies and rituals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church open a fantastic window on the authentic world of the Old Testament. In no other country is it possible to find oneself so dramatically transported back in time or to participate with such spiritual freedom in the sacred rituals of an archaic faith.
As a result, many North American tourists are being introduced to the Historic Northern Route of Ethiopia which includes: (a) Bahar Dar, the source of the fabled Blue Nile Falls locally known as Tis Esat or "Smoke Fire". Bahar Dar also is the home of several mysterious monasteries and churches located along the shores of Lake Tana; (b) Gondar, the site of the numerous medieval castle-like palaces and the Debra Berhan Selassie Church with its remarkable ceiling decorated with paintings of winged angel faces. Gondar is also the ancestral homeland of the Falashas, also known as the "Black Jews"; (c) Lalibela, the site of the fantastic rock-hewn monolithic churches known as the "eighth wonder of the world", which has been preserved as one of UNESCO's "World Heritage Sites"; and Axum, Ethiopia's most ancient capital and the capital of the historic Axumite kingdom which is the site of many remarkable monolithic obelisks. Axum is also the home of the fabled Queen of Sheba and the reputed repository of the Biblical Ark of the Covenant. Other tourism sites of interests include the natural beauty and cultural history of Dire Dawa and the famous walled city-state of Harar, which is the fourth most sacred Islamic city. In Harar, you can witness the spectacle of the "Hyena Men" who feed wild hyenas raw meat from their own mouths. There are also many eco-tourism adventures to be explored in the Simien Mountains in the north and the Sof Omar Caves in the south. To the northeast is the Denakil Depression, which is one of the most inhospitable but dramatic landscapes on earth. Here you can explore the archaeological site where the fossils of humankind's earliest known ancestors were discovered in 1974, affectionately known as the famous "Lucy" fossil remains. In 2000, an estimated 125,000 visitors generated an estimated $45 million in tourism revenues. Ethiopia's major international airport is located at Addis Ababa and there is an excellent network of sixteen subsidiary airports throughout the country. The national airline carrier, Ethiopian Airlines has been in continuous operation for over 57 years and provides direct (non-stop) flights from Dulles International Airport and Newark International Airport on the east coast of the United States to Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Airlines is also the only airline carrier to fly east to west services across the African Continent linking Addis Ababa in the east with Dakar, Senegal in the west and provides services to twenty-plus African nations, Europe, Asia and the United States. It should be noted that, the Commission for Tourism of the Republic of Ethiopia will be hosting the Africa Travel Association's (ATA) 8th Eco-Tourism Symposium in Addis Ababa October 3-8, 2004. Having already hosted the ATA's 20th Annual International Congress in 2000, Ethiopia is quite pleased to have the opportunity to once again showcase the hospitality and unique tourism attractions of Ethiopia. For more information about the ATA's 8th Eco-Tourism Symposium in Ethiopia please visit the ATA's website at www.africa-ata.org. Venue International Professionals, Inc. (VIP) is an African-American owned, full-service travel and tourism company based in the Washington Metropolitan Area specializing in travel and tourism destinations to the Continent of Africa. VIP will be working very closely with the Commission of Tourism as well as with the tourism private sector of Ethiopia in order to promote travel and tourism opportunities to Ethiopia. For more information about VIP, contact Helen C. Broadus, President of VIP at 1-877-TO-VENUE [TOLL FREE]; (301) 856-9188 [VOICE]; (301) 868-2218 [FAX]; vipinc@erols.com [E-MAIL] and/or visit VIP's Website at www.venuetravel.com.
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