Ethiopia’s ex-president says China keen to share prosperity with others

Published: October 20,2022

By Jerry Omondi

Former Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu. /CGTN

China is keen to share its prosperity with the rest of the world even as it seeks to build on the success it has achieved over the years, according to former Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome Wirtu.

In an interview with CGTN, Teshome pointed out that China wants other countries to gain too through various deliberate efforts such as the Belt and Road Initiative.

“China is strong, economically prosperous, industrialized, the second largest economy, maybe going to be the first biggest largest economy in the world, in the very near future, ” he said.

“China is determined to share its experience, this prosperity to the rest of the world and the Belt and Road initiatives, and especially the Chinese initiative to cooperate with Africa, with other developing countries is a manifestation of sharing this prosperity.”

Teshome acknowledged the political leadership of China, which he said had spearheaded the country’s economic development.

He noted that the success China enjoys now can be attributed to visionary leadership and national unity of purpose bringing together the government and the citizens.

The former president said much of Ethiopia’s development programs have been executed by China.

“Starting from the second road program, most of our program was executed by Chinese construction companies, and that is an achievement I could say, and it was a very successful manifestation of how China and other developing countries can work together for the benefit of both sides, ” he said.

“The first industrial park is 100% constructed by Chinese investment and developers. That has attracted many Chinese companies to come to Ethiopia. So I can say that directly or indirectly we have contributed to bridging investment flow between China and Ethiopia.”

Mulatu pointed out that the strong ties between the two countries have led to the development of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa as a modern Metropolis and the country’s economic prosperity.

He also noted that there is a lot Ethiopia can learn from China, especially on poverty eradication.

“If you are determined to industrialize your country, it is possible. I don’t think there is any developing country that can be compared to China. China definitely is a success story and Ethiopia can emulate that,” he said.

africa.cgtn.com