Vol 22. No. 73 Saturday, 14 November, 2015 Pages 8, Price 2.00 NFA

The Bank of Eritrea has issued the following additional informa-tion on the redemption of old Nakfa currency in circulation:

Both the old and the new Nakfa currency notes shall 1. function as legal tender until 26 December 2015. Thereafter, only the new Nakfa currency notes will be used. Refusal to accept the old Nakfa notes as legal tender in the interim pe-riod specified above will be in contravention of the law.

Forms that must be filled for the redemption of old Nakfa 2. currency notes; for opening a new Bank account; and, for deposit-ing money into an existing account are ready and will be available in the Banks from Monday 16 November onwards. These forms must be filled accurately as forms which do not contain the requi-site information will not be duly processed.

All private enterprises can deposit the old Nakfa currency notes they hold on two occasions: the first time between 18 November and the 1st of December, and, the second time from 28th until the 30th of December.

The deposits will be put into the same account by filling the necessary forms.

Bank of EritrEa issuEs additional information

A senior Eritrean Government composed of the Foreign Minister, Mr. Saleh Osman, and Mr. Yemane Ghebreab, Head of PFDJ Political Affairs, participated at the Valletta Summit on Migration that was held from 11-12 November this week.

In his address to the Summit, Mr. Saleh Osman stated that the “issue of migration has featured promi-nently on the joint agenda of Af-rica and Europe” The Valetta Sum-mit was quite different from pre-vious gatherings “as there is now a palpable sense of urgency and determination both in Africa and Europe, a greater understanding on the pressing need for a genuine partnership to address the vital, complex and multi-faceted chal-

Mr. Ibrahim Idris, Eritrea’s Charge d’ Affaires to the Republic of Sudan held talks with General Bakri Hassan Saleh, First Deputy President, on enhancing warm ties

The Eritrean cycling team which took part at the 28th Tour de Faso Cycling Race was accorded warm welcome on its return home on Wedneday, November 13th. The

lenges of migration”, the Foreign Minister underlined.

Mr. Osman described in greater detail the external push factors that had fueled, in recent years the in-ordinate and illegal youth migra-tion from Eritrea. This has harmed Eritrea as well as the destination countries, the Foreign Minister emphasized.

Eritrea has made slow but steady progress in health and education and achieved most of the Millen-nium Development Goals. The prospects for a new phase of sus-tained economic growth as a result of substantial investments made in the past years on human capital, ag-riculture and infrastructure, among others, Minister Osman explained.

EritrEa participatEs at VallEtta summit

cycling tEam accordEd warm wElcomEteam had ranked 3rd in terms of ag-gregate results in the tournament.

Mr. Zemede Tekle, Commission-er of Sports and Culture, applauded

the level of coordination that the team had displayed in the compe-tition and underlined that this ap-proach is bound to yield yet higher dividends in future contests.

The Valletta Summit ended with a plan of action and EU pledges of 2.2 billion dollars of development assistance.

(Full text of FM Osman Saleh’s address on 2nd page).

chargE d’ affairEs holds talks with sudanEsE first dEputy prEsidEnt

of friendship between the two sis-terly countries.

Noting the historic ties between Eritrea and Sudan, Gen. Bakri expressed his country’s readi-

ness to further strengthen the existing close relations.

Mr. Ibrahim on his part stat-ed that Eritrea is keen to pro-mote Eritrean-Sudanese coop-eration on vari-ous fields.

2Eritrea Profile, Saturday, 14 November, 2015

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Azmera BerhaneSara Alem

Mr. Chairman,

Excellencies Heads of State and Government, Excellencies Heads of Delegation,

For over a decade, the issue of migration has featured promi-nently on the joint agenda of Af-rica and Europe.

This Valletta Summit, however, is quite different from previous such gatherings, as there is now a palpable sense of urgency and determination both in Africa and Europe, a greater understanding on the pressing need for a genuine partnership to address the vital, complex and multi-faceted chal-lenge of migration.

In the protracted prepara-tions for this Summit, and despite divergences in emphasis, a near unanimity of views has emerged on a number of key themes.

These are the absolute need to address root causes, the primacy of finding solutions at the source of the problem and the imperative of shared responsibility.

It has indeed become crystal clear that migration cannot be properly understood, let alone ef-fectively addressed, in isolation from effectively negotiating the global cross-currents that have a massive impact on our world. Key among these are the cycles of violent conflicts, recurring and unjustified armed interventions, the accelerating rate of global so-

cio-economic inequality, the per-sistence of acute poverty in the midst of abundant wealth as well as the failure of nation• building on the basis of the dignity, equal-ity and fundamental rights of citi-zens.

Excellencies,

Over the past few years, my country, Eritrea, has faced a se-rious challenge of illegal migra-tion, human trafficking and the wilful exploitation of the suffer-ing of Eritrean youth for strategic and political purposes.

A very bleak picture of the country, which is in total variance with the reality, has been delib-erately painted. Whatever their motivations, European countries have followed policies that have fed irregular migration, harmed Eritrea as well the interests of the destination countries themselves.

Today, and thanks to sustained engagement between Eritrea and

STATEMENT OF H.E. OSMAN SALEH MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF THE STATE OF ERITREA AT THEVALLETTA SUMMIT ON MIGRATION

Europe, and the visit of scores of European delegations to the coun-try, a clearer and more accurate picture of the reality is emerging.

Many have begun to appreciate that Eritrea is a nation of rich and heroic history, with a strategic lo-cation on the Southern Red Sea and blessed with significant hu-man and natural resources.

In spite of the lack of interna-tional understanding and support and in the face of hostilities and pressures, including the con-tinued violation of the Algiers Agreement, which the European Union signed as one of the wit-nesses, Eritrea continues to enjoy peace, stability, security and so-cial harmony.

It has successfully kept at bay radicalization, extremism and terrorism It plays a constructive role for peace and security in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa regions.

In the critical area of socio-economic development and be-cause of an unfavourable regional and international environment as well as myriad challenges and ob-stacles, Eritrea has faced a diffi-cult decade and half and the qual-ity of life of its people has been negatively affected.

Nevertheless, it has made slow but steady progress in health and education and achieved most of the Millennium Develop-ment Goals.

Thanks to sustained investment on human resources develop-ment, agriculture and infrastruc-ture, the lean years of sluggish expansion are giving way to a new phase of sustained economic growth, which promises tangible improvement in peoples’ lives. We, in Eritrea, are confident that these developments, combined with a raft of measures that the government is taking in the eco-nomic, social and political do-mains that are focused on provid-

ing education, training, skills and opportunities for our youth, will not only enable us to overcome the challenge of irregular migra-tion but to build a solid basis for a just and prosperous society.

Excellencies,In conclusion, I wish to assure

you that, in keeping with their proud history and political tradi-tion, the people and government of Eritrea have taken primary re-sponsibility to address their chal-lenges.

I wish also to convey to Your Excellencies that in keeping with one of the key themes of this time-ly and important Valletta Summit, that is Shared Responsibility, the people and government of Eritrea actively seek and warmly wel-come partnership with the Euro-pean Union and its member and associated states.

I Thank You.

11-12 NOVEMBER Malta

EritrEan community mEmBErs in gothEnBurgAt a seminar conducted on 7 November, Eritrean community members

in Gothenburg, Sweden, expressed readiness to back up national develop-ment programs.

Mr. Yonas Mana, Charge D’Affair at the Eritrean Embassy in Swe-den, said that Eritreans residing abroad have historical responsibility to strengthen participation in the national development programs.

Extensive briefings regarding human resources development, the invest-ment opportunities in the Homeland and the role of citizens as well as ac-tivities required to promote the image of the country have been provided.

community planning workshopThe Ministry of Health on 9 and 10 November conducted community

planning workshop regarding the introduction of the Inactive Polio Vac-cine (IPV).

At the workshop in which members from different ministries and na-

nEws BriEf tional associations took part, Mr. Gebremicael Tesfazgi, head of agitation in the ministry, indicated that Eritrea has been providing vaccination start-ing from the days of the armed struggle to ensure the health of children. Currently 11 types of vaccinations are being provided and the coverage is 95%.

Mr. Tedros Yihdego, head of vaccination in the ministry, said that the newly introduced vaccination is provided to children 14 weeks after birth.

Eritrea in accordance with the Millennium Development Goals has al-ready become polio free country and is conducting sustainable follow up in case of cross border prevalence of the disease.

popular campaign of road rEnoVationThe residents of the four administrative areas of Areza sub-zone are un-

dergoing popular campaigns to renovate the 17 kilometers road connecting Adi-Gulti and Debri Abune Menkorios with the Mendefera Areza main road.

Mr. Andemeskel Adhanom, administrator of Areza sub-zone, said that other administrative areas in the sub-zone are following the exemplary ini-tiative of the residents.

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, 14 November, 2015 3

Distinguished Guests

It is my pleasure to have this op-portunity, on this United Nations Day - indeed 70th Birthday – to make a few remarks on the topic: Transitioning From Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals: What Does It Mean For Eritrea. The Govern-

ment is preparing its Millennium Development Goals Progress Re-port 2015 that would be completed and ready for access in a relatively short period of time. Therefore, in the following few minutes I would like to give you a glimpse into what has been achieved so far in the Mil-lennium Development Goals agen-da and how Eritrea will transition to the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Millennium Development Goals Agenda (MDGs) that was heralded by the United Nations in year 2000 formally ends in Decem-ber 2015, and will be succeeded by the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda (SDGs)beginning January 1, 2016. As you know, de-velopment is a dynamic processthat should not have a beginning and

ending dates. However, I believe that value has been added by the segmentation of the development effort into fifteen-year periods that would enable countries to monitor their progress. The MDGs have enabled nations to speak the same development language, compare experiences, learn from eachother’s best practices and innovations, and to march further and together in quest of sustainable development.

As you know, economic growth is a relatively simple concept in that it seeks to enhance quantita-tive changes from human activity-involvingfactors including capital, technology and organizational and managerial inputs.In a given year, an economy’s growth can be mea-sured as change in gross domestic product (GDP) and GDP per capita. Economic growth is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for development

Development on the other hand is improvement in quantities produced as well asqualitative improvement in the lives of all the people includ-ing their social, cultural, political and economic lives. It embodies self-fulfillment and self-esteem, ownership, self-reliance, shared prosperity, dignity, equality, social harmony and safety, social justice, participation in political, social and cultural affairs, access to informa-tion, independence of thought, etc.

Eritrea’s development aspira-tions and agenda evolved over the years. They are not a product of world-class experts in the confines of a think tank, nor are they the

blueprints of a successful nation worthy of emulation. They reflect the hopes and dreams of Eritreans present and long past, and they em-body interests of posterity. They are an expression of the wishes and desires of residents of hamlets, vil-lages, towns and cities on the trail-sthat led to full national liberation. And they reflect the aspirations of Eritreans in the Diaspora. They were first articulated in the trenches behind the fighting forces for lib-eration and vetted fully among the general population following libera-tion. One can quickly skim through key Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) documents including the declaration of establishment of National Union of Eritrean Women (1979), Proceedings of the Second Congress of EPLF (1987), the La-bour Law (1991), and the Charter-and the Macro Policy (1994) and understand the roots of the national development policy and programs. Needless to say, these milestones in the evolvement of Eritrea’s sustain-able development agenda precede the declaration of the Millennium Development Goals declaration in 2000. Eritrea’s development plans and programs are firmly rooted in the calls for gender equality and empowerment of women; eradica-tion of ignorance; rapid, stable and sustainable development; regional-ly balanced development; eradica-tion of poverty and hunger; widely shared prosperity; inclusive and participative work ethics; develop-ment of an open economy; public and private partnership; protection

of the environment; and enhance-ment of democracy and justice.

Ladies and Gentlemen, bundle the above, if you will, with the el-ements of development that I enu-meratedearlier when I presented the concept of development, and you have Eritrea’s brand of sustain-able development. It is only fortu-itous that the main tenets of the UN MDG and SDG goals coincide or bode well with Eritrea’s principles and aspirations of development. I say the MDG and SDG frameworks bode well with the Eritrean brand of development because they were heralded well after these principles had been inscribed in Eritrea’s poli-cies and programs of reconstruc-tion, rehabilitation and sustainable development.

Among the main strategies of the Government are develop-ment of agricultural infrastruc-ture; water resource harvesting and development; human capital development;mainstreaming of women’s issues; expansion and im-provement of economic infrastruc-ture includingtransportation, com-munications, electrification, and tourism; pro-poor social safety net, social infrastructure includingedu-cation, healthcare, social security, care of veterans and survivors; con-ducive administrative and legal en-vironment and security; peace and social harmony; and self-reliance and ownership of programs.

Having given you a capsule con-text of Eritrean development pro-

gramming, let me now brief you on Eritrea’s performance in the MDGs. There are as you know eight MDG goals: They are (1) Eradicate ex-treme poverty and hunger (2)Achieve universal primary educa-tion (3) Promote gender equality and empower women (4) Reduce child mortality (5) Improve mater-nal health (6) Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases (7) En-sure environmental sustainability, and (8) Develop a global partner-ship for development.

As I mentioned earlier, the Government is in the process of completing the preparation of the MDGs 2015 Report that will even-tually be accessible to the general public and developmentpartners. For now, I would like to say that Eritrea has made progress in all the MDGs, and efforts will be acceler-ated to achieve the remaining goals as an integral partof the nations de-velopment plans and programs.

I should add that, so far and to my knowledge,no developing country has achieved all the MDGs. The hardest nut to crack is Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger. It is the most formidable chal-lenge to all developing countries. In a few African countries, notably Kenya, Central African Republic, Mauritania, Nigeria and Zambia the percentage of poor increased rather than decrease in the period

TRANSITION FROM MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS TO SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT GOALS

keynote address of professor abraham kidane Economic advisor, ministry of national development

continued on page 6

Last Tuesday Cinema Roma hosted the German organization ARCHEMED and their famous German guitarist Wolfgang Wei-gel. For those who don’t know where or what Cinema Roma is…I’m just kidding.

The show (which was for free and invited everyone) was adver-tised trough posters around As-mara (places like Imperial Hotel and Sunshine Hotel and so on). It was scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. and guitar lovers all around Asmara were patiently waiting for the sun to set and the night to begin.

As I arrived ten minutes past ten, I was a bit surprised to see the performer out on the steps of the Cinema smoking a pipe. I was really hurrying to get to the show because I thought I was late (how do you write an article about a concert when you had missed the introduction?).

The time was 7:12 p.m. and the show hadn’t started yet. The peo-ple were just starting to arrive and if I’m to be honest there weren’t that many of them.

Time was 7:14 and the perform-er had just entered the stage and was doing a sound check.

The place was filled by Ger-man diplomats and doctors and journalists and Eritrean lovers of music as well as art.

Finally a German journal-ist got the show underway. He spoke about the meaning of ARCHEMED and how important it was for the Germans to con-tinue diplomatic relations with our country in every sector start-ing from medicine. He then in-troduced ARCHEMEDs leading doctor and the man who made it all possible Dr. Peter Schwidtal.

ARCHEMED started its work in Eritrea in 2010 according to Dr. Peter.

He spoke about how German healthcare professionals have been coming to Eritrea ever since and helping out the children. He de-scribed the staff of ARCHEMED

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, 14 November, 2015 4

as being doctors for children in need.The help went from surger-ies to helping out the villages by providing donkey’s so the women wouldn’t have to carry the water on their backs.

He then spoke of how music was essential to helping the kids. I quote: “… music is like therapy for children”. “To continue build-ing bridges between our countries, music can be a very special way.”

Having said all that, it was time for the genius guitarist to intro-duce himself and his work.

As he got on the stage and the applause finally subdued, you could really feel the people on the edge of their seats waiting, ea-gerly, to see what all the fuss was about.

The performer was an old man. I’ll be fair he wasn’t that old: he looked to be a good solid 65 though. You’ll have to forgive me, for this is just my opinion; he may have been older or younger.

He wore reading glasses and he seemed to be at home up on that stage. He gave a brief introduction of what the concert was about. He was to play mostly South Ameri-can songs and pieces. He seemed to have so much experience and so many years of guitar play-ing in him that although I wasn’t quite familiar with the songs that he would be performing, I felt as if he was about to put together a show that was like no other; a lifetime of his music.

Ok all right maybe I didn’t feel that, maybe he said that. He said that he never really felt like a piece performer and that he want-ed to share with us a lifetime of the music that he performed and wanted to make us feel what the music entailed in it in every note.

“Music begins there where lan-guage ends”. That was my favor-ite line of the day.

After that the show really start-ed. His first piece was by Alfonso Moreno and it was entitled My Old Love.

Wolfgang’s soft delicate fingers played the acoustic guitar flaw-lessly and effortlessly. The music was subtle and gentle.

To be quite honest there were some people who I think were ex-pecting something more exciting and more upbeat. Since the con-cert was for free, a lot of people just thought it was going to entail something more dance friendly and hip hoppy.

After the guitarist had per-formed pieces and excerpts ranging from the great Alfonso Moreno to the master guitarist of the twentieth century Paraguayan exile Agustin Barrios (particular-ly the cradle song) to the Venezu-elan Pastore Pozole (a simple folk musician country boy turned to a famous Avanguard) who became the best remembered of his time because he made everyone feel Argentinian and was exceptional, the people were going in and out like the concert was some sort of buffet were you come in to take food and you get out to eat it.

Since I was going to report on the events, I had taken a seat at the back and I was fairly pleased with my range of vision and I felt as if I was able to see and capture everyone’s movement. Sitting in the back though had its disadvan-tages. People actually came to the back to talk.

It was either the two guys who kept laughing at the performer, or

the couple seated one row after mine who decided to talk-over the entire show.

Overall the people who enjoyed the music were very few in num-bers.

Of course the Germans seemed very serious about their agenda. They had brought their own cam-eramen and everything.

I was really surprised when Weigel started singing as well. His rich and bass voice was com-manding and emotional all at the same time.

He translated every note to an equally sad or thoughtful emotion so well that even the funny guys sited next to me decided to shut up.

I especially enjoyed his per-formance of Como la Cigarra by Fito Paez (pop musician of Ar-gentina).

After taking a fifteen minute break (I suspect it was to smoke some more of that pipe) the peo-ple had settled down a bit.

Those who remained decided to do so because of their love for music, those who left… Anyways he came back and he performed some more songs of the 20th cen-tury that the South Americans had sang about; songs that talked about survival; songs that resem-bled their time so perfectly that it was hard not to get caught up

with all the emotion. At one point I thought I was going to cry.

“I will love you when I am dead and the day after even more” Wolfgang quoted one of his fa-vorite songs by one of his favorite singers Mercedes Susla near the end of the show.

As a guitar student myself and admirer of music, I was simply left stunned and with my mouth hanging wide open.

He ended the show with a song from Pablo Milanes entitled To Live.

All in all the show was marvel-ous, captivating, emotional and exceptionally well-rehearsed.

The Germans brought with them a guitarist who played mu-sic like you and I eat food. They also brought an appreciation for classical music that our country seems to lack (with all the Guayla that we hear every day).

People came and people left but the ones who stayed till the end gave the German genius a stand-ing ovation and Cinema Roma felt like a place of old Latin memory; and loving and sad emotions filled the old Italian made Cinema like never before.

Nehemiah Kebreab

ARCHEMED Present: Wolfgang Weigel the Guitarist

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, 14 November, 2015 5

The Japanese delegation with different government officials

The Chinese delegation headed by Mr. Liu Jie, Vice-governor of Sichuan provincial people’s government with President Isaias Afwerki

Mr. Pekka Haavisto, special enjoy of the Finnish Ministry of foreign affairs during the launching ceremony of a cooperation agreement

Kesete Ghebrehiwet

In the past weeks alone, Eritrea has welcomed delegations from Finland, China, and Japan. Eritrea’s development cooperation areas include health, higher education, and agriculture. Eritrea’s view of international economic cooperation is based on partnership with an emphasis on respect for mutual values, dignity and sovereignty.Trade and investment, rather than aid and dependence, underline the country’s bilateral relations.

As a result of this firm stance on mutual cooperation, Eritrea’s economic engagement and ties has grown exponentially since independence in 1991, particularly with countriesthat share these same values.

According to Eritrea’s Permanent Mission to the African Union (AU), as of 2014, Eritrea had 36 diplomatic missions abroad. By comparison, Kenya’s figure was 50, Uganda’s 31, Ethiopia’s 39, Tanzania’s 32, Sudan’s 64, and Djibouti’s 50. However, considering the number of diplomatic missions in relation to the number of years since formal independence – an important factor in establishing diplomatic representation abroad – illustrates that Eritrea’s ratio is 1.7. By comparison, Kenya’s ratio of diplomatic missions abroad in relation to years since independence is 0.98, while Uganda’s is 0.6, Djibouti’s is 1.35, Sudan’s is 1.1, Tanzania’s

is 0.6, and Ethiopia’s is 0.53. Quite simply, Eritrea establishes diplomatic missions abroad at a faster rate than its regional neighbors.

Maritime resources and deposit of minerals as well as strategic geographical location enables Eritrea to be a best candidate country for a viable investment. Eritrea is indeed a trade corridor between Africa and commercial centers of the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Eritrea’s sound and stable economic policy, and particularly its responsive investment policy, makes it ideal for cautious investors interested in long-term returns on their investments.

Bilateral economic cooperation between Eritrea and Japan is

an epitome of constructive engagement. Eritrea-Japan economic cooperation consultation was held recently in Asmara. Mr. Estifanos Afwerki, Eritrean

Ambassador to Japan, said during the discussion session that agriculture, fisheries and marine resources, manufacturing, mineral resources, transportation, free

zones, and other services are just a sample of investment sectors that may interest Japanese investors in Eritrea. Ambassador Estifanos reiterated Eritrea’s interest

in establishing development programs in areas of mutual interest with a special focus on strengthening Eritrea’s human resource capacity. The Japanese

delegation also held discussions with President Isaias Afwerki and Dr. Ghergish Teklemichael, the Minister of National Development. The special delegation of the Japanese Prime Minister headed by Ambassador Norio Maryuama, discussed with various other Eritrean officials in an attempt to strengthen the ties between both countries.

As stated earlier, Eritrea is committed to form and reinforce bilateral relations that depend on healthy partnership cooperation with any country from around the world. The ongoing relationship of mutual cooperation with Japan, China, Finland and other countries particularly in education sector are indeed indications of the country’sconstructive engagement.

It is to be recalled that Mr. Pekka Haavisto, special enjoy of the Finnish Ministry of foreign affairs have also visited Eritrea and signed an agreement to extend support in five projects of higher education.

Likewise, Chinese delegation headed by Mr. Liu Jie, Vice-governor of Sichuan provincial people’s government held discussion with president Isaias as regards refining ties. In the meeting between the two parties President Isaias said that Eritrea and China have long standing bilateral ties and shared views with the delegation as regards the conductive climate that exists for Chinese companies to actively participate in major investment venture in the country.

Mr. Liu Jieon his part said that Chinese companies are prepared to invest in physical infrastructure and particularly in mining, construction of dams and bridges as well as in agricultural projects.

The Government of Eritrea through its Foreign Policy attaches strong importance to Foreign Direct Investment, Trade, and partnership, not aid.Various agreements of cooperation Eritrea has been developing with different countries are in fact effective measures the country has taken to make a difference in the country’s economic growth particularly through human resource development. These are signs of unremitting efforts towards a better tomorrow.

Eritrea’s International Relations: Win-Win Cooperation

6Eritrea Profile, Saturday, 14 November, 2015

ASMARA, 12 November, 2015: As part of the commemorations to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations, the UN in Eritrea hosted an event on Eritrea’s transi-tion from the Millennium Develop-ment Goals (MDGs) to the Sustain-able Development Goals (SDGs).

The event entitled, “Transition from Millennium Development Goals to Sustainable Development Goals: What does it mean for Eri-trea?” provided a platform for dis-cussion on what the transition from the MDGs to the SDGs means for Eritrea.

Government officials, UN staff, development partners and repre-sentatives of research and academia institutions gathered at the Eritrean Worker’s Union and engaged in a lively discussion covering issues such as the sustainability of Eri-trea’s success in the health-related MDGs and approaches to replicate this success in achievement of oth-er areas of the SDGs.

The MDGs will expire at the end of 2015 and will be succeeded by the SDGs for another 15 years from 2016 to 2030.

“This event provides us with the opportunity to look at Erit-rea’s achievements over the past 15 years of the MDGs and see how we can build upon these successes while looking at how to go forward with the implementation of the SDGs in Eritrea,” said Christine N. Umutoni, UN Resident and Hu-manitarian Coordinator in Eritrea. “The United Nations in Eritrea is committed in its partnership with the Government of Eritrea and will support the government and its people towards the achievement of the SDGs” she added.

It was noted throughout the dis-cussion that the Government of the State of Eritrea is committed to in-corporating the SDGs in the coun-try’s planning process.

The event was moderated by Dr.Luka Okumu of the United Na-

tions in Eritrea, with a keynote ad-dress from Prof. Abraham Kidane of the Ministry of National De-velopment and a presentation on Eritrea’s perspective of the SDGs by Dr. Ghiorgis Tekle of the Col-lege of Business and Economics in Eritrea.

This was supplemented with a presentation on the student per-spective of the SDGs by Ms. De-borah Tedros, also from the Col-lege of Business and Economics in

The UN hosts a “UN Day” event on Eritrea’s Transition from the

MDGs to the SDGsHalhale.

The Government of Eritrea de-clared its adoption of the SDGs in an address given at the UN Gen-eral Assembly by H.E. Osman Saleh, Minister of Foreign Affairs, in September this year noting that “the goals and targets [in the out-come document] bode well with Eritrea’s Self Reliance Policy and Development Agenda.” Eritrea has recorded significant progress in achievement of MDGs 4 (child

mortality), 5 (maternal health) and 6 (HIV/AIDS).

The Government of Eritrea and the UN are currently in the penulti-mate year of its four-year Strategic Partnership Cooperation Frame-work (SPCF 2013-2016) and has already commenced preparations for the development of a new five-year partnership of cooperation (2017-2021) which will incorpo-rate Eritrea’s national development plans and the SDGs.

of 1990-2010. Unfortunately too, global economic and financial in-stabilities, regional conflicts, and environmental issues including cli-mate change have exasperated the problem. As poverty in all its forms is the nucleus of all development challenges, Eritrea is determined to surpass the MDG goal on poverty and hunger and thereby achieve eradication by 2030.

So far, Eritrea’s most notable suc-cess is in the area of public health. Based on 2010 data, and unequivo-cally corroborated by the relevant United Nations agencies here and in New York, Eritrea was declared the first and only African country to achieve all three Millennium Health goals ahead of the target date of 2015.

In acknowledgement of this unique achievement, the United Nations applauded Eritrea by a side event during the 69th Session of the General Assembly in September 2014.

All member countries of the UN

were invited to the event to learn from innovative practices that re-sulted in Eritrea’s success. The achievements so far required the participation and cooperation of the people, the Government, and development partners.Government realizes that there are yet great challenges to be overcome in all sectors, and that they can be over-come by continuing the steadfast and widely participative approach that has characterized the national development effort.

The successes recorded thus far occurred despite several formidable challenges.

Among them are resource limi-tations, inadequacy of statistical systems and global economic and financial instability. Furthermore external encroachments on the na-tion’s fiscal and political space, unjustified and mean-spirited sanc-tions, misinformation, provoca-tions and threats of war, and the continued and illegal occupation of sovereign Eritrean territories by neighbouring Ethiopiahave been

distractions and impediments to peaceful development.

The SDGs can be considered in part as a continuation and expan-sion of the scope of coverage of the MDGs. Here too, eradication of poverty occupies centrality. As well it should. Of the 17 goals, at least three goals and 25 targets revolve around ending hunger and eradicat-ing poverty in all its forms. At least four goals and 38 targets address the critical issues of environmental degradation, climate change, ter-restrial ecosystems, exploitation of marine resources, management of forests, desertification, land degra-dation, loss of biodiversity, and the need to adopt sustainable modes of production and consumption. Two goals and 19 targets address the issues of education and gender equality; one goal and 8 targets deal with water resources; one goal and 13 targets deal with health for all ages; one goal deals with access to modern energy; two goals and 20 targets with growth, employment, innovation and industrialization; and one goal and 10 targets deal

TRANSITION FROM ....continued from page 3

with inequality.

Whilst most of the SDGs are linked to the MDGs, they extend the scope and depth of engage-ment. For instance they address inequality not only within nations but also among nations, they aim at enhancement not only of child and maternal health but also better health for all ages.

All of the SDGs, we believe, are congruent with Eritrea’s develop-ment aspirations. The Government has been on target especially as it pertains to poverty eradication, eliminating inequalities of opportu-nity between genders, and dispari-ties between segments of the popu-lation and among cities and regions of the country. The Government’s commitment to achieve these goals is unswerving.

Eritrea continues to incorporate these goals in its development plans and programs. And to main-tain momentum, the government has identified focal persons within public agencies and established

committees to review and monitor progress.

Several of the SDGs require not only domestic commitment but also adequate bilateral, regional and global cooperation. To that end the Government will work with devel-opment partners that share its com-mitment and support its programs.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Allow me to conclude by reflecting what I personally noted right after libera-tion in 1991.

Under-five year children died at the rate of 151 per1000, life ex-pectancy at birth was 43 years, and approximately 15 per cent of the entire population had access to clean and safe water. Today, child mortality is only 48 per 1000 live births, life expectancy at birth is approximately 63 years, and over 70 percent of the population has ac-cess to safe water.

We have some ways to go, but we have also come a long ways.

Sophia Tesfamariam

“Wey gud” is an expression used by Eritreans to express their bewilderment and it is one that is being heard more and more often these days as the deluge on Eri-trea increases in cyberspace. Con-sidering the gag order on Eritrea during the liberation struggle, the interest on Eritrea is welcome. In his 1997 book, “The United States and the Horn of Africa: An Ana-lytical Study of Pattern and Pro-cess”, Ogbazghi Yohannes wrote about the US-led “international community” and its attitude on Eritrea and how Eritrea’s voice was muzzled. Yohannes wrote:

“…Nowhere has the adverse impact of American foreign pol-icy on the fate of a nation been more apparent than in Eritrea. First by blocking the emergence of Eritrea as a distinct politi-cal entity and later by furnish-ing massive quantities of lethal weapons to Ethiopia, the United States contributed heavily to the tragic situation in which Er-itrea had found itself for nearly half a century. The unqualified American support for Ethiopia had also received the ideologi-cal backing of Western scholar-ship; academic Ethiophiles had invoked the presumed political nonviability, ethnic diversity, and “artificiality” of Eritrea--as if nations have preordained destinies--as sufficient reasons to justify its incorporation into Ethiopia… By controlling the fields both of diplomacy and of analysis, American policy mak-ers and other Western scholars had transformed Eritrea into the “untouchable” of world pol-itics and the backwater of inter-national scholarship…”

Today, academics, journalists and western analysts are falling all over each other, with their Eri-trean surrogates in tow, to perpetu-ate the narrative on Eritrea, which seems, with time, to be alluding them. The anti-Eritrea crescendo has reached its climax, and so has the chase.

Speaking of chase, there is yet another outfit on the web that is trying to present itself as a cred-ible source of information. Ethio-pians believe it is another creation of the minority regime in Ethio-

Wey gud!pia. The tell-tale signs were there. Eritreans and Ethiopians have learned to identify the fake sites produced by the regime in Ethio-pia, littering the cyberspace,with distorted reports produced by “ac-ademics”. This particular site has a bombastic name-a telltale sign that it was that of the regime in Ethiopia. The site recently posted the following information on its page:

“…readers are calling for more information on the Eri-trean President’s health ….We are doing our best to keep our readers up-to-date…”

Wey gud…

A quick call to the nearest Eri-trean Embassy would have re-solved that issue, if that was real-ly something its “readers” wanted to know. The minority regime’s obsession with the President of Eritrea is nothing new and the re-gime’s contempt for the Eritrean people, while feigning concern, is also not new. Unlike the re-gime in Ethiopia which relies on the “international community” to subsidize 60% of its national bud-get, feed its hungry population and produce its policies, Eritreans have never relied on the “interna-tional community” to, least of all for sovereign decisions of nation-al importance. Unlike the walk-ing dead whoare seeking saviors in the West, the astute and con-scious Eritrean people are confi-dent in their own ability, and are perfectly capable of charting their nation’s future.

The announcement on the site said the following:

“….One organization, the Felsberger Institute located in Germany, is responding to a request from members of the Eritrean diaspora to arrange a meeting of opposition groups and representatives from civil society. The meeting will begin on November 13-15 in Frank-furt and the topics will include: 1) State structure, relationship between ethnic groups, dealing with the PFDJ, the role of reli-gion in government and society; 2) land issues; 3) education and language policies; 4) economy; and 5)regional security, the army and relationship to neigh-

boring states….The goal of the association is “to stimulate and support academicresearch, to start educational initiatives and to create opportunities for peo-ple to meet…”

The minority regime in Ethiopia with its begging hands stretched out all over Europe and the Unit-ed States, begging for alms to feed its starving population, is so concerned about Eritrea that it organizes yet another meeting to chart Eritrea’s future.

Wey gud…

First of all, we Eritreans have our own voice and are intellectu-ally capable of presenting our case in any forum and in any country, at any time and at any place. They do not need mercenary surro-gates, “professional dissidents” or self-serving western NGOs to speak on our behalf, nor will we allow them to use our names, in illicit political campaigns against the State of Eritrea and its peo-ple. Secondly, a quick look at the guest list shows groups and indi-viduals harbored and financed by the regime in Ethiopia. These are groups that have conducted ter-rorist acts in Eritrea and have no constituents in the vast Eritrean Diaspora, or in Eritrea. So who are they representing?

Wey gud…

Eritreans in the Diaspora have seen the mushrooming of non-descript NGOs in cyberspace since 2001. It has become a fad of sorts. I suppose it has to do with the misconception on what western NGOs can and cannot. Misconstruing their roles as “aca-demics and professionals”, some Eritreans have used acquaintanc-es with academics, at work and at religious institutions, halls of government etc. to disseminate distorted reports about Eritrea and the leadership. As they say, a little education is dangerous!

Alex De Waal, who has worked closely with such Eritreans in the last 20 years, says:

“…There are problems of transferring the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty, or Lawyers’ Committee type of institutions

to Africa. This type of institu-tion is very amenable in the Af-rican context to being hijacked for careerist or partisan politi-cal ends. There is nothing wrong with someone with a political agenda or wanting to make a career from raising these hu-man rights issues; that certainly doesn’t make the human rights any less legitimate. However it does create practical political problems of credibility in these countries when you see opposi-tion politicians trying to be both player and referee in the politi-cal struggle by taking on the hu-man rights mantle…”

The campaigns become even more illegitimate when they are sponsored by the minority regime in Ethiopia and its handlers. Some Eritreans insist on deferring to western human rights organiza-tions and media, wrongly believe they can advance their narrow political agendas through them. Western human rights organiza-tions appear to be powerful and almost unchallengeable. While they can influence western poli-cies to some extent, the Eritrean voice is stronger-it is the one that matters the most. So if some “professional dissidents” want to spend their time appealing to western regimes, rather than their own people, there is nothing that can be done than to allow them to learn through experience the futil-ity of their efforts.

Yes, write about Eritrea, her leaders and her people but do so with balance and fairness. Aca-demics and others should orga-nize conferences and meetings to discuss Eritrea, but they should never overestimate their influence. The credibility and integrity, and the reputation of those gathered

will determine its outcome. The position they hold in the society they purport to represent is impor-tant. So if a bunch of wayward individuals and groups find cover in such western institutions, such as the one being sponsored by the German Institute, and believe they can influence policy on Eritrea, they are in for a rude awakening.

When Eritreans in the Diaspora see individuals who have partici-pated in Eritrea’s long and arduous struggle for independence strug-gle reduced to errand boys for the minority regime in Ethiopia, and serving as tools to advance its po-litical agendas against their own people and comrades in arms, the aghast Eritrean Diaspora has only one thing to say.

Wey gud…

It is only befitting to end with this 1996 quote from President Isaias Afwerki:

“…It is troublesome to ob-serve clever storytellers and writers without any moral scruples distorting real history and attempting to create new versions of history with attrac-tive presentation; in the process some people may believe that these lies are truth, and with the passage of time such lies may become established and en-trenched. Sometimes when you observe bullies and bankrupt elements, who do not know the limits of their capacity, deliver-ing grandiose speeches and hec-toring others, you are tempted to answer back; but, instead, you prefer to take the high ground and remain silent…”

Eritrea’s accomplishments speak louder than words…

correction:Eritrea Profile apologies for wrongly publishing, on its issue of 11th November this week, a joint advertisement of the Ministry of Agriculture and the EU for the Procurement of ICT, LAN and Wan Equipment and Accessories. This is in fact an old procurement notice published and already executed in the past.

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, 14 November, 2015 7

About her early didactic steps

Honestly, I started being more attentive at school when I was in the fourth grade.

Consecutively to the broaden-ing of the interest I developed in my studies I started experiencing achievements that further pushed me to be a purposeful student. I

had a satisfactory GPA in math-ematics so I pursued accounting sciences.

How did you manage your time as a student?

Truthfully speaking I have no regrets on how I spent and still I am spending my time. If you have a vision and you work for it

at the prize of your time then you are bound to reach the peak of ac-complishment.

Did you have any special study-

ing methods?

Nothing special really, but I was selective of the hours in which I would be more wakeful as for me to study productively.

Personally I preferred studying in the day time, and I avoided be-ing stressed.

To a certain extent I preferred studying for a specific amount of time in a relaxed atmosphere; I am not the type that would spend day night caught in schoolwork.

Can you please expand what do you mean by ‘specific amount of time’?

I wouldn’t give more than three or four hours to my studying ac-tivities.

But most importantly I had tuned myself to be very extremely attentive in class and in lectures. I don’t want to miss anything.

I do not feel timid in asking anything at all if I came across any incomprehension.

On top of that I enjoy reading books of an ocean of variety, I watch a lot films and relax over music.

I also do some sports and l take pleasure in immersing myself in sketching cartoons; it is all part of my relaxing arrangements after long hours of studying.

Life in college

Sweet! Alongside the endless educational benefits one can gain,

“Time Management is the Center Core of a Success”

She was born in Asmara 1990 and joined the 23rd round to Sawa in 2009. She has been an exemplary student in every step of her educational conduit, and recently graduated in Accounting from the Hamelmalo College of Busi-ness and Economics with great credits. Brilliant young lady Mrs. Sofanit Michael will be our guest today.

there is also the love and compan-ionship that you can acquire from the social life of college.

The fact that we go through Sawa before attending college is definitely a significant factor be-cause it makes everyone feel like we’re no more individuals of our own but members of a big fam-ily, something similar to ‘a big group of children from the same mother’.

There is something I don’t want to pass by though; the advices of my mother, she always reminded and encouraged me to study hard so that I could find my place in the world.

And since I am very social per-son I have some real good memo-ries from my life in college!

What about after college?

I was positioned at the Hous-ing and Commercial Bank for to complete my national service and worked as a computer operator in the IBD (Internal Book Division) of the Bank.

Working there has been one of the priceless experiences of my life.

It gave me a chance to learn so many things from my seniors. And I am most certain that all of the interns felt the same way.

You speak multiple languag-es…

Yes, apart from my mother lan-guage I speak English, Italian and French.

Being able to understand and speak multiple languages is defi-nitely a large wealth. I pray to learn more languages!

How would you want young-sters to be?

The youth has the duty of al-ways being the part of society that stimulates the society’s pro-ceedings in general, so I always would want us to be purposeful, hardworking, tolerant, consider-ate and graciously polite. I want us to keep on being this way.

What are your future plans?

I have an immense desire of joining the ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and keep on my studies.

I sincerely want to learn more of Accounting.

Anything you want to say at the end?

I know I have much more to do, but I would like to thank my fam-ily and everyone else that sup-ported and encouraged me so far. I also would like to thank you for having me.

Best of luck!

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, 14 November, 2015 8