By Ecenur Colak
ANKARA
Ethiopia’s ambassador to Turkey has told Anadolu Agency the Turkish government "does not exploit Africa but supports the African people".
Speaking in an exclusive interview in the Turkish capital, Ayalew Gobezie thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his support during Ethiopia’s ongoing drought and appealed for assistance from other international organizations and humanitarian agencies.
"He [Erdogan] is supportive, every time -- not only on this current problem … but in the long term he is focused on the development of Africa.
“The Turkish government has principles: win-win; mutually beneficial work; not to exploit Africa but to support the African people and African development," he said.
"There is an integrated approach by the government of Turkey and Turkish businessmen to bring development to Ethiopia," he added.
Gobezie pointed to a deep-rooted history between Turkey and Ethiopia which goes back to the Ottoman Empire.
In 1912 the first Ottoman-Turkish consulate in Ethiopia was opened in the town of Harar, Gobezie said adding that Turkey’s first embassy in Sub-Saharan Africa was opened in 1926 in Ethiopia.
"On the other hand, the Ethiopian government opened its embassy in Ankara in 1933. There is a longstanding relationship. Turkey and Ethiopia have had bilateral relations more than 100 years," he added.
The ambassador stated that drought in 2015 and 2016 affected around 10.2 million Ethiopians which is why the government requested food assistance from different humanitarian organizations and the international community.
"At that time Turkey played its role. It provided more than 2,500 tons of grain and different materials in some parts of our country especially in the Affar and Harar areas," he said.
In early March 2017, the International Organization for Migration also called for “urgent action” to help over 20 million people who were facing famine in South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and northeastern Nigeria.
On March 4, Erdogan called for participation in the aid campaign.
Trade with Turkey
Gobezie also said trade cooperation between Turkey and Ethiopia was growing, including a Turkish-backed 386-kilometer (250 mile) railway with a capital budget of $1.7 billion dollars, which was half finished.
Adding that there was an additional investment by Turkish companies worth a total $2.5 billion, Gobezie said: "We are very happy, our people and also our government are very happy about the active participation of Turkish businesspeople."
Gobezie also said the local community was pleased with the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) which had restored the ancient mosque of al-Nejashi and the former Ottoman consulate.
Economic growth
The ambassador said economic growth of between 10-11 percent was taking place despite droughts in 2015 and 2016.
"We are the fastest economy growth in Africa." he added.
"We have no oil, we have no gas, our growth is not based on oil production, but -- like Turkey -- from agriculture, from tourism, from industry, from services…" he added.
"Even though we overcome the 2015 and 2016 droughts, even though we have 12 percent agricultural production growth there is still the influence of that drought situation in our country," he said.
The ambassador also said 5.6 million people needed food assistance, an issue which the Ethiopian government is tackling.
"So when you see 2017, yes of course there are 5.6 million people who are affected by La Nina, which is a different kind of climatic condition, so we are asking the global community, the local people and the contribution of the government to solve this problem to save the lives of those people," he said.
Gobezie also stressed how performance of the Ethiopian government in terms of the drought in 2015/2016 had been "appreciated" by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
The envoy also highlighted that out of a total population of 100 million people, 28 million were students in schools or universities.
"It is a big job for the government. If your people are educated, are in school they can overcome any problem by doing their own activities. So education is also very important to overcome such kind of situations," he said.
FETO in Ethiopia
On rumors that six schools linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) -- the force behind the 15 July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey -- where sold to a German company, Gobezie said he had no information on this.
"Nobody approved that. I hope it is not true. The government of Ethiopia and the government of Turkey are working to hand over those schools in a legal process," he said.
Reporting by Ecenur Colak:Writing by Meryem Goktas
