Addis Ababa — "We are very much honoured and privileged to convey an honorary doctorate degree in Development Studies to His Excellency Dr. Carlos Lopes," said Professor Yosef Mamo, president of Hawassa University.

Mamo made the announcement during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and Hawassa University (HU) today in Addis Ababa.

ECA's Executive Secretary, Carlos Lopes, expressed gratitude for the award, which will be officially handed on June 9 2016, and congratulated the leadership of HU for reaching out to ECA for collaboration.

"Your insistence in establishing this relationship is very much appreciated," said Lopes. "We are expanding our collaboration with African universities, and are therefore looking forward to a very strong collaboration with Hawassa University."

The purpose of this MoU is to establish a general framework of cooperation for ECA and HU to collaborate in the area of academic and research activities in furtherance of the common interest of both parties. It will extend interdisciplinary research and promote regional and continental engagement in order to support the transformation agenda spearheaded by ECA in industrialization and HU in knowledge.

The joint academic and research activities will help bridge the research-policy gap, both to better inform academic research on pressing policy issues and to bring academic research more to the attention of policy-makers and governments.

Mamo expressed optimism about the outcome of the collaboration. "We are very honoured to be associated with this prestigious institution, ECA, which has done a lot in Africa and is a beacon of social and economic development on the continent," said Mamo. "We hope this collaboration will be a success story."

The signing of the MOU was preceded by a tour of some ECA facilities led by Deputy Executive Secretary, Giovanie Biha, who welcomed the HU delegation and reassured them that collaborating with ECA was the right thing to do.

"It's the beginning of a long but good and successful journey, and I think ECA and HU have many areas of common interest in terms of the work we and the work you do," said Biha.

After a tour of ECA's print shop, library and Africa hall, Mamo who headed the HU delegation told the ECA delegation that, "Your environmentally friendly printing press is amazing. It is high standard and we would like to adopt your model and, if possible, have our staff trained by yours on how to run a facility of that magnitude. Then your library with its hard and soft copy materials would greatly benefit our students"

ECA's Lopes assured the HU delegation that the Commission is ready to support them. "We can help you develop relations with international community, and also serve as a filter for your relations with the international community. Also, we'll be sure to always furnish your library with our latest publications."