Addis Ababa, Ethiopia October 20, 2016:- Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance says providing space for civil society and democracy to flourish is a foundational point for Ethiopia’s future.
Assistant Administrator R. David Harden: OK, thank you. The Minister and I had very nice meeting together. He was very hospitable and I had a chance to have some Ethiopian coffee. We talked about our lives, our families and the future. We also had a full and frank discussion about the future of Ethiopia and how we can partner together. Ethiopia has made enormous progress in health and education. It’s done an extraordinarily great job in managing the risk from the El Niño drought we’ve worked together. But we also had conversation about the State of Emergency and some of the risks that the government faces, but also the need for openness, for the respect for democracy and constitutional freedoms, and the need to combine both democracy and development to create economic opportunity for you, the next generation of Ethiopians. And for all of us we believe that providing this space for civil society and democracy to flourish is a foundational point of a future Ethiopia. Thank you!
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