Addis Ababa: Ethiopia has wrapped up preparations for the 38th African Union (AU) Summit and it has been looking forward to receiving participants. State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Birtukan Ayano, during a press briefing to journalists today said, Ethiopia has finalized its preparations for the 38th AU Summit and the 46th Executive Council, which will commence in the upcoming few days.
According to Ethiopian News Agency, the State Minister stated that comprehensive preparations have been completed to successfully organize the summit in a special way this year and that Addis Ababa is looking forward to receiving its guests. Capitalizing on its long history of hosting the AU Summit, Ethiopia this year has established a national coordinating committee consisting of representatives of 35 institutions that have been working on various projects in the past few months, Ambassador Birtukan noted.
Unlike the previous years, Ambassador Birtukan mentioned, the upcoming Summit will be uniquely hosted under the principle of “Every Citizen is a Diplomat for His Country” and that in accordance with this motto, 101 protocol cadets have been trained to cater for the successful and coordinated execution of the high-level gathering. Protocol Guidelines and Administrative Arrangements for the Summit have also been prepared and dispatched to participants, she added.
The newly inaugurated Addis Ababa Corridor Development, the recently renovated National Palace, the Addis Africa Convention Center as well as pre-existing hotspots such as the Adwa Victory Memorial Museum, and Unity, Friendship and Entoto Parks will be among the major tourist destinations for the participants of the Summit, the State Minister told journalists.
State Minister of Government Communication Services, Tesfahun Gobezai, for his part, said a large number of guests are expected to take part in the 46th Executive Council and 38th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union. So far, more than one thousand journalists have applied for accreditation to cover the proceedings of the Summit, he added.
The state minister also called upon Addis Ababa City residents to continue extending the usual hospitality to the participants. Ethiopia’s Permanent Representative to the African Union, Ambassador Hirut Zemene said Ethiopia will participate in this summit with a focus on agendas that protect its national interests. Ambassador Hirut added that Ethiopia will present its work in green development, agricultural activities, environmental protection, school feeding, and infrastructure development at the summit.