Addis Ababa — As of 3:00 PM local time, Ethiopians across the country had planted over 648.4 million tree seedlings, achieving close to percent of the national target to plant 700 million trees in a single day.

Ethiopia has embarked on the nationwide tree planting campaign, which is being held under the theme: "Renewal Through Planting."

This is part of Ethiopia's annual plan of planting a staggering number of 7.5 billion trees during the ongoing rainy season.

During the official launch of this year's Green Legacy program last month, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed emphasized Ethiopia's ambitious target to plant enough seedlings this year alone to raise the total to 47.5 billion.

With sustained national commitment and public participation, the country aims to reach an impressive 54 billion seedlings by next year.

As part of this far-reaching green development initiative, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, in the early morning hours, unveiled the start of Ethiopia's unprecedented one-day tree planting campaign, aiming to plant 700 million seedlings across the nation.

Briefing journalist on the progress, Government Communication Service State Minister, Tesfahun Gobezay pointed out that as of 3:00 PM local time, Ethiopians across the country had planted over 648.4 million tree seedlings, achieving close to percent of the national target to plant 700 million trees in a single day.