BuaNews (Tshwane)
14 September 2007
Addis Ababa — The new Ethiopian millennium should be a time for Ethiopians to move forward with new spirit and vision, says the Chairman of the African Union Commission, Prof Alpha Omar Konare.
Addressing the gathering in connection with the celebration of dawning of the Ethiopian Third Millennium earlier this week, Mr Konare said Ethiopia, "the second home of Africans", had been registering promising economic growth.
Prof Konare said Ethiopia was engaged aggressively in development endeavours and expressed the hope that the nation would move forward for better achievements.
He stressed that all Africans should work together to ensure development and unite themselves for a better Africa.
Africa had been facing enormous challenges in the last millennium, Prof Konare said, while noting that Ethiopia had never been colonised and had drawn an unforgettable history for African nations.
He called on Africans to realise their dream of being united in the new Ethiopian millennium and expressed his belief that Africa would get out of poverty shortly if African scholars and natives harnessed the immense natural resources of the continent.
Africans should exert the utmost efforts to ensure development in a bid to secure peace and prosperity in the continent, Prof Konare said, adding that instability and conflicts that existed in some parts of the continent should be resolved peacefully.
Africans should build a developed and prosperous continent through ensuring sustainable development, democracy, and good governance, he said.
Ethiopia's President Girma Woldegiorgis said that ensuring the continuation of the ongoing development activities, aimed at building a prosperous nation, will rely a great deal on the youth.
In his state of the nation message in connection with the Ethiopian Millennium Celebrations earlier this week, President Girma said besides its contribution in creating national consensus and building the nation's image, the millennium celebrations provided a good opportunity to promote the nation's tourism potential to the rest of the world.
The celebration of New Year 2000, according to the Ethiopian calendar, is a special one unlike the previous years, he said, adding that this historical event was a great opportunity to transfer the nation to the coming generation with honour.
All should be ready to ensure continuation of the economic growth being registered in the country as well as to make sure all are beneficiaries of the growth, he said.
The public should actively take part in the activities of creating national consensuses and promoting nation's positive image.
During the past millennium, Ethiopians had struggled with various challenges and executed some encouraging activities. It is not more than two decades since the country launched various development activities and started building democracy.
President Girma said the new millennium was being celebrated while the government policies had witnessed encouraging results during the past consecutive years. The encouraging results achieved so far laid the foundation to transfer the nation to prosperity.
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