US to Assist Ethiopian Reform, Including Embedding US Experts in Government

March 5, 2019 (Ezega.com) - The United States of America will continue to provide the necessary support to Ethiopia's ongoing reform, says US Congresswoman.

The Chair of the House of Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee for Africa and Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Karen Bass, said this during a press conference on Monday after concluding her 3-day visit to Ethiopia and Eritrea.

“I am excited at the changes taking place here and it was great to be back; and I am leaving with a long to do list of things that I need to do when I get back to Washington to help in anyway I can to further the reforms here in Ethiopia,” she pointed out, according to the Ethiopian News Agency

She stated that her country will provide technical support in several areas, especially in regards to democracy and elections.

She urged Ethiopia and African countries to take advantage of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which due to expire in six years.

US Ambassador to Ethiopia, Michael Raynor on his part said “he has enormous regard to peacekeeping role that Ethiopia has played and continues to play. We support that role and will continue to support.”

“The scope with that partnership can and will expand under current realities when we have such continental views on political side as well as the security side,” he pointed out.

According to him, Ethiopia’s shift towards free market economics will benefit the Ethiopian people and create commercial opportunities for Ethiopia and America.

“We are looking very hard at ways that we can resource our support for the reform agenda beyond the traditional areas of development and humanitarian assistance we have been sustaining and continue to sustain,” Ambassador Raynor said.

Raynor indicated that his country is putting additional support on democracy, electoral support, civil society, and to create robust private media.

He also disclosed that the US will embed US govenment specialists inside the Ethiopian government to better coordinate US assistance.

“We are complementing that with a range of support underway including additional support to analyze constraints of economic growth and devise plans of action to address them, including imbedding senior US government officials at key Ethiopian economic ministries and operations for a sustained period of time,” he elaborated, according to ENA.