Eritrea: Land of
Can-Do People!
(Yikealo! kikewn eyu
kemey zeykewn!)

ERI-NEWS
Bi-Weekly Newsletter
Permanent Mission of the State of Eritrea to AUand UNECAPress Section

President Isaias Held Talks with Italian Delegation
On 02 July 2014, President Isaias Afwerki received and held talks with an
Italian delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Lapo Pistelli.

During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on the ways and means
for the relations between Eritrea andItaly which is anchored on historicalties and mutual benefits could enter anew phase of development.

The Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Eritrean Institute of Tech-

Volume 1, Issue 14
15 July 2014

They also asserted the readiness of theGovernments of Eritrea and Italy tostrengthen their bilateral cooperation,
and agreed to chart partnership programs that benefit the two countries.
Moreover, they agreed to coordinate
their efforts in the promotion of peaceand stability in the Horn of Africa
Region.
President Isaias explained to the Italian
Deputy Foreign Minister Eritrea‟sviews on the developments in theregion and the resolution of theproblems.

Inside this issue:

Eritrea and Its
Academic Harvest
Number of Graduates From Various
Eritrean AcademicInstitutions in 2014
Unanimous Call toRe-strategize for
AgriculturalTransformation223Mr. Lapo Pistelli‟s visit to Eritrea took
African Union
place when Italy has assumed the Pres3
Headsof State andidency of the European Union for a six
Government Adopt
month period.

Agreement Signed for Construction of College of Science
On 01 July 2014, in line with the agreement concluded in December 2011 between the Eritrean and PRC governments regarding cooperation in the economic and technical sectors, an agreement was signed on 31st June for theconstruction of College of Science in
Mai- Nefhi at an expenditure of USD
33 million.

National Service: A toolfor EconomicDevelopment, NationalCohesion and theDefence of Sovereignty

nology, Prof. Tesfamicheal Haile,
signed the agreement on the part of theEritrean government. On the Chineseside, Mr. Hao Yizhong, Director of
China Civil Engineering Construction
Corporation, signed the accord.
Reports indicated that the constructionof the 3-storey building would get underway next August and is expected tobe finalized within 30 months.

Vol 1. Issue 14, 15 July 2014

the Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy forAfrica

Contact Addresses:
Tel: +251-116620052
Fax:+251-116620011
Email:eritreanaumission@
gmail.com
P.o.Box: 5527
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Eritrean Mission toAU& ECA@EritreaAU

Page 2

Volume 1, Issue 14

Eritrea and Its Academic Harvest
By Tesfanews http://www.tesfanews.net/eritrea-and-its-season-of-academic-harvest/
Summer is a season of multi-disciplinary all-round citizens along with a firm belief in and loyalty
harvest in the Eritrean Academic Calendar as to the Eritrean nation.
thousands of Eritrean students graduate andcelebrate their achievements from the variouscolleges, institutes and technical schools in the Number of Graduates From Various Eritrean
Academic Institutions in 2014
country.

Working on a priority basis in a bid to promote
educational outreach though its „Education forall‟ policy, the Eritrean government rendered
considerable number of its budget to provide
absolutely free education service to all its
citizens up to the tertiary level with theultimate goal of promoting social and economic development through education.
It is gratifying to witness the higher number ofgraduates being shown annually that attests thesoundness of the policy and strategies inconnection with education.
According to the September 2013 data from
UNESCO Institute of Statistics, Eritrea‟s adultliteracy rate was the range of 60-90% and its
youth rate ranges between 90-100% which isamong the highest not only in the region but
also in the world.
The Eritrea government believes Education in
the country is a fundamental human right and alifelong process by which all individuals aregiven opportunities to attain their potential andnoColleges, Institutions
and technical school

1.

Eritrean Institute ofTechnology (EIT)2.

Asmara Community Col- Certificate/Diploma
lege of Education

588

3.

Adi-Keih College of Arts BA, Diploma andand Social Sciences
Certificate

262

4.

College of Health Science

BA and Diploma

477

5.

Halhale College of Busi- BA and Diploma
ness and Economics

425

6.

Hamelmalo College ofAgriculture

MA, BA and Diploma

398

7.

College of Marine Science and Technology

BA and Diploma

122

8.

Halai Technical School

Certificate

25

9.

Hagaz Agriculture andTechnical School

Certificate

153

10.

Denden CommercialSchool

Certificate

278

11.

Wina Technical school

Certificate

149

TOTAL

Vol 1. Issue 14, 15 July 2014Awards

MA, BA and Diploma

No. ofGraduatesin 2014
1,081

3,958

Page 3Eri-News

AFRICAN UNION ACTIVITIESUnanimous Call to Re-strategize for Agricultural Transformation
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, 26 June 2014: African
leaders attending the 23rd Assembly of AU Heads ofState and Government in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
have been unanimous on the strategies needed tostep up agricultural transformation to promote thecontinent‟s development.

Championing the call was African Union Commission Chairperson, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini
Zuma who spelt out strategic directions includingincreased public-private investment and partnership;embarking on irrigation projects, increased accessto land and agricultural inputs, and applied scienceand technology to modernize farming as criticalorientations to transform agriculture.
Remaining focused on the AU 2014 annual themeof Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Dlamini
Zuma reiterated the call for agriculture to be madeattractive to the continent‟s youth, especiallythrough specialized training in agriculture and agro-processing in what she described as the “skillsrevolution”.
To enable agricultural transformation to flourish,
the environment must be conducive: “We needconditions of peace and stability, and for ourpeople not to be under threat from armed gangs,
terrorists and human and arms traffickers and frompoachers,” the Chairperson said. She called on
stakeholders to work toward peace and stability to“create conditions for our people to return home
without fear, to plow their fields and to rebuild
their lives.”

African Union Heads of State and Government Adopt the Science, Technology andInnovation Strategy for Africa
STISA-2024 was developed as a result of the reviewof the Africa Science and Technology Consolidated
Plan of Action (CPA), following an inclusive
participatory process involving policy-makers,
prominent scientists, and researchers at home and in
Diaspora; institutions and organizations including
the AU Commission and the NEPAD Agency. The
8-member high-level panel that presided over thedevelopment of STISA-2024 was co-chaired byProfessors Calestous Juma and Ismail Serageldin.
The STISA-2024 is a decadal continental strategic
framework for accelerating Africa‟s transition to an
innovation-led, knowledge-based economy within
the overall framework of the AU Agenda 2063. In
their decision, the Heads of State and Government
called upon the Member States, Regional EconomicCommunities and Development Partners to align,
connect and use the STISA-2024 as a reference
framework in designing and coordinating their STI
development agendas and initiatives, to collectively contribute to Africa‟s socio-economic
development. This calls for a political will andfinancial commitment from Member States that
goes beyond the Khartoum declaration of 1% GDP
spending on research and development.
The AU Commission, the NEPAD Agency andtheir partners will continue to advocate and createawareness, mobilize necessary institutional,
human and financial resources and also track,
monitor and evaluate the implementation progressof STISA -2024.

Vol 1. Issue 14, 15 July 2014