Eritrea: Land ofCan-Do People!
(Yikealo! kikewn eyu

ERINEWSkemey zeykewn!)

Bi-Weekly Newsletter
Permanent Mission of the State of Eritrea to AU and UNECAPress Section

President Isaias Hold Talks With Finnish Delegation
President Isaias Afwerki domains of Education on the current situation in
met with a delegation and Health. To this end, South Sudan, President
headed by the Minister they agreed to speed up Isaias stressed the need forof International Coop- the process.
all stakeholders to beeration of Finland,engaged and give coordiMr. Pekka Haavisto.
In their discussion on nated support towards enaregional issues especially bling the country to overIn the meeting held on
come the prevailing unnec10 January 2014 inessary and sad situation.
Asmara, the two sides
exchanged views on
During its two-day visit, theways and means ofFinnish delegation also conenhancing relations ofducted discussions with apartnership
betweennumber of Eritrean governEritrea and Finland,
ment officials.
particularlyin
theEritrea One of the 10 Countries
Set to Have the Fastest-Growing Economies in 2014
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
has listed Eritrea among the 10countries in the world projected to havethe fastest growth in 2014. EIU estimates that in 2014 Eritrea’s economy
will grow by 8%.

1234,56,7,8

The 10 countries ranked from first to 9
last by percentage of GDP growth. →10Mongolia
Sierra Leone

15.3%
11.2%

Turkmenistan
Bhutan and Libya
Iraq, Laos, andTimor-Leste

9.2%
8.8%
8.5 %

Eritrea

8.0%

Zambia7.9%

Credit Suisse: Eritrea’s Wealth Per Capita Higher by 13%
Credit Suisse, a Switzerland-based
multinational financial service andresearch institute, in its latest
Global Wealth Report, finds thatfrom mid-2012 to mid-2013,
Eritrea’s wealth per capita andwealth per adult increased fromUS$915 to US$1037 andUS$1883 to US$2,125, respectively.

Eritrea’s Progress from 2000 to mid-2013

WealthPer
CapitaWealthPer Adult

Financial
Wealth

2000

$168

$389

$183

2004

$184

$398

$157

2008

$434

$910

$335

2013

$1,037$2,125$783

Year

Vol 1. Issue 2, 15 January 2014

National Service: A toolfor Economic
Development, National
Cohesion and theDefence of Sovereignty

Volume 1, Issue 2
15 January 2014

Inside this issue:A High Level UN
Delegation Visits 2Eritrea
Eritrea Making
Impressive Progress in Meeting
Six of the MDGs
Eritrea at aGlance22Orotta School ofMedicine
3
Graduates Fourth
Round of Doctors
Eritrean Natnael
Berhane Wins the 32013 AfricanSportsman
Award
Diplomatic
Missions andInternational
Organizations inEritrea

3

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

Page 2Eri-News

A High Level UN Delegation Visits Eritrea
On the second half of December, ahigh level U.N. delegationconducted a three-day visit toEritrea to assess the country’s
d ev el o pm en t ach i ev em en t s .
During the visit, the delegation received briefings from the relevant
Government officials on Eritrea’s
national development priorities forthe next three years.
Headed by the Chair of theRegional United Nations Development Group (UNDG) for Easternand Southern Africa, Abdoulaye
Mar Dieye, the delegation
comprised of Regional Directors
from UNDP, UNICEF, IOM,UNFPA, ILO and WFP.

At the conclusion of the visit,Mr. Abdoulaye Mar Dieye said:“As a delegation, we have given
our commitment to the Government that the UN in Eritrea will
ensure that it continues to
produce results and create
impact,”
The Resident and Humanitarian
Coordinator of the UN in Eritrea,Ms. Christine Umutoni, on herpart said, “the visit of thisdelegation builds on the current
momentum to strengthen therelationship between Eritrea
and International Developmentpartners.”

The group met with the Presidentof Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki andseveral Government officials anddiscussed the United Nations’engagement in the country andthe possibility of further
strengthening cooperation in linewith Eritrea’s sustainable
development framework.

Eritrea Making Impressive Progress inMeeting Six of the MDGs
Out of the eight MDGs, Eritrea has made impressive
progress by achieving three of the health-related Goals,
i.e. reducing child mortality, improving maternal healthand the fight against malaria, and HIV and AIDS; andis on-track on three others.

Eritrea at a Glance
Population

3.5 million

Ethnic Groups(9)

Afar, Bilen, Hidarib, Kunama, Nara,Rashaida, Saho, Tigre and Tigrinya

Religion

Equally divided between Christiansand Muslims

Area

About 124,320 sq. km.

Red Sea Coastline
Major Sea Ports

1,212 km.
Assab and Massawa

Capital city

AsmaraOther Major Cities Massawa, Assab, Keren, Dekemhare,and Towns
Mendefera, Barentu, Tessnei
National Day

24 MayCurrency

Nakfa

Neighbouring
Countries

Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Yemen,
Saudi Arabia

Vol 1. Issue 2, 15 January 2014

Page 3

Volume 1, Issue 2

Orotta School of Medicine
Graduates Fourth Round of Doctors
The Eritrean Government has
One of these institutions is the Since then, the School has exmade huge investment in buildingOrotta School of Medicine which panded its programs by establishthe infrastructure and humanwas established in 2004 in Asmara. ing the School of Dental Medicine
resources necessary for all thein 2007, and a Post Graduate
citizens to get accessible,
Medical Education program inaffordable, efficient, effective and2008. On 28 December 2013, thequality health services.
School graduated 56 Medical
In this vein, Eritrea has
Doctors who pursued their studies
established several training
for eight years.
institutions for medical doctors,
Students at the Orotta School ofnurses, midwives, pharmacists,laboratory technicians, associate
Medicine and the other medicalnurses, anaesthetists, publictraining institutions do not pay tuihealth practitioners and othertion, boarding or any other fees; itparamedic specialists.
is fully covered by the Government.

Eritrean Natnael Berhane Wins the 2013 African Sportsman Award
Natnael Berhane is voted African
Sportsman of the Year 2013 in apoll conducted by the African
Top Sports website. According tothe results made public on 5January 2014, Natnael secured
the award by getting a sweeping
4371 (44%) of the votes. While
Ivorian footballers Yaya Touréand Didier Drogba got 2847
(29%) and 637 (7%) of the votes,respectively.

The 22 year-old Eritrean is a risingstar in the world of cycling. His
victory in the Presidential Tour ofTurkey in 2013 made him the firstever African to win a major
European tournament. The title‘African Cycling Champion of
2012’ is also one of his many
shining achievements.

Diplomatic Missions and International Organizations in Eritrea
DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS (EMBASSIES)
1. China
2. Djibouti
3. Egypt
4. European Union
5. France
6. Germany
7. Israel
8. Italy
9. Libya10. Qatar

11. Russia
12. Saudi Arabia
13. South Africa
14. South Sudan
15. Sudan
16. Turkey
17. United Kingdom
18. United States of America
19. Yemen

Vol 1. Issue 2, 15 January 2014

INTERNATIONALORGANIZATIONS
1. FAO
2. OCHA
3. UNAIDS
4. UNDP5. UNFPA
6. UNHCR
7. UNICEF
8. WFP
9. WHO
10. ICRC