ERI-NEWS
Bi-Weekly Newsletter
Prepared by the Press Section of thePermanent Mission of the State of Eritrea to AU
and UNECA
President Isaias Held Talks withChinese Communist Party Delegation
A high-level delegationfrom the People’s Republicof China (PRC) Communist
Party, headed by Mr. Cui
Shaopeng, Deputy Ministerof State in the Commission
Office of Public Sector
Reforms, held talks withPresident Isaias Afwerki
and senior PFDJ officials inSawa, Eritrea.

Vol 4. Issue 71
01 August 2017
Inside this issue:Eritrea Strives toAddress the Negative 2
Effects of Climate
ChangeDuring the meeting held on 14 July,
President Isaias underlined the significance of developing the existing relations between the Chinese Communist
Party and the PFDJ as well as the twogovernments to the highest level.
President Isaias further underscored thePRC’s responsibility to work for therealization of justice, peace and stability
in the region and at global level.
Noting that relations between Eritrea
and the PRC is strategic and based on
mutual understanding and cooperation,
the PRC delegation expressed resolve

AUC Congratulated
Eritrea on theto work for higher cooperation in allInscription of4sectors.
Asmara on theIn the second day of the visit, World Heritage List
Mr. Hagos Gebrehiwet, Head of PFDJ
Eritrea Actively
Economic Affairs, gave briefing on theParticipatingin thepolitical and economic situation inEritrea as well as front and government UN Process of Devel- 4oping the Global
relations.
Compact for Safe,
Following exchange of views and Orderly and Regularexperiences, the two sides reached
Migration
understanding to develop relations
between the two countries. Present atthe meeting were Mr. Yang Zigang,
PRC Ambassador to Eritrea and otherEmbassy members.

Newly Constructed College of Sciences Handed OverThe handing over of the newly
constructed College of Sciences at Mai
Nefhi by the Chinese Civil Engineering
Construction Corporation at a cost of 25
million dollars was conducted on 27
July. The construction of the College
building was in accordance with theagreement concluded in 2014 between

the Governments of Eritrea and thePeople’s Republic of China.
Speaking at the ceremony in which
senior Government and PFDJ officials,
the Chinese Ambassador and the Chairman of the Chinese Civil Engineering
Construction Corporation were present,
Contd. on page 3

Vol 4. Issue 71, 01 August 2017

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 2Eri-News

Eritrea Strives to Address the Negative Effects of Climate Change
Geographically, Eritrea is located in the Sahel region ions of the country is thoroughly assessed and awards
which is prone to drought and erratic rainfall. This are given to exemplary individuals and institutions.
situation is aggravated by climate change. Hence,
Declared a greening campaign on 15 May 2006;
sustainable land management issues assume greatthrough the Campaign 41 million trees
importance for countries like Eritrea whose econoplanted on 16,000 hectares of land;mies highly depend on agriculture.
Distributed 150,000 energy saving stoves;
Taking this reality into account, the Government of
Put under enclosure 300,000 hectares of land;
Eritrea, right after independence, massively invested
Constructed 600 reservoirs;in the agriculture sector in order to restore, sustain
Treated by soil and water conservation schemes
and enhance the productive functions of the country’s
100,000 hectares of farm land, boosting
natural ecosystem resources. Community-based
agricultural production by 30- 40%
afforestation and soil and water conservation havebecome routine activities of the people, and thegovernment aims at conserving and rehabilitating the Thanks to this campaign, so far more than 41 million
land that has been degraded due to climatic condi- trees have been planted on 16,000 hectares of land.
tions, deforestation, overgrazing, overcultivation, soil More than 150,000 energy saving stoves have beenerosion and decline of soil fertility. Research shows distributed all over the country. Permanent and tempothat managing land more sustainably reduces the rate rary enclosures are increasing in number; and farmers
are benefiting by feeding their animals by cut andof degradation.
carry system. More than 300,000 hectares of land isunder enclosure.

Students have been engaged for more than 20 years
in afforestation and soil and water conservation
programs in their summer break, and many students
have been organized in green clubs to promote treeplanting in their school premises.
To strengthen the land rehabilitation programs in asystematic and vigorous way, the Government ofEritrea declared a greening campaign on May 15
2006, at a national greening conference attended byH.E. Isaias Afwerki, President of the State of Eritrea.
As per the resolution of the conference, all Eritrean
regions are involved in various land rehabilitation
campaigns mainly in soil and water conservation as
well as tree planting activities. During the national
greening day, the campaign’s performance in all reg-To address the negative effects of climate change, thegovernment of Eritrea has been involved in soil andwater conservation schemes and construction of damsand diversion structures. Over 600 different sizedwater reservoirs have been constructed in the past 26years.
To optimize the utilization of harvested water andincrease cycles of crop production, irrigationequipment producing factory has been built andstarted production.
Contd. on page 3

Vol 4. Issue 71, 01 August 2017

Page 3Eri-News

Eritrea Strives to Address the Negative Effects… (Contd. from page 2)
enhance productivity of the land. The farmers,
satisfied with the outcome of these activities, are
now replicating these activities. Nationally about
100,000 hectares of farm land has been treated byvarious soil and water conservation schemes,
which boosted production by 30- 40 percent.
Through endeavours undertaken all over the country the government and the people of Eritrea aredemonstrating their commitment to achieve Land
Degradation Neutrality by 2030. The governmentis also committed to involve all relevant sectors tomeet the target. That’s why Eritrea signed theMoreover, farmers are introducing contour farming
and farmland levelling to conserve soil and water toUNCCD in 1995 and ratified the convention in 1996.

Newly Constructed College of Sciences...

(Contd. from page 1)

Mr. Semere Russom, Minister of Education, said that the construction task
attests to the existing strong relations
between Eritrea and the PRC.
Mr. Yang Zigang, the PRC Ambassador
to Eritrea, equally pointed out that theproject was a continuation of theexisting cooperation between the twocountries in different sectors in generaland education in particular. He further commended
the integrated effort demonstrated on the part of logy, stated that the new building will make significant contribution in producing advanced human
Eritrean and Chinese workers.
resource both in quality and quantity.
Similarly, the Chairman of the Chinese Civil
Engineering Construction Corporation, Mr. Yuan Li,
expressed pride for participating in Eritrea’s national
development programs and handed certificates ofmerit to exemplary Eritrean and Chinese workers.
The seven-block new building was constructed on
37,979 square meters and comprises administration
rooms, laboratory, conference halls, libraries, andclass rooms, among others. The building has a capacity of accommodating about six thousand students.
Prof. Gebrehiwet Medhanie, Vice President of The Colleges of Engineering and Education will be
Academic Affairs at the Eritrean Institute of Technoexpanded in the next phase in similar fashion.

Vol 4. Issue 71, 01 August 2017

Page 4Eri-News

AUC Congratulated Eritrea on the Inscription of Asmara on the World Heritage List
The African Union Commission (AUC) congratulated Eritrea on the inscription of Asmara on theWorld Heritage List, during the 41st session of theUNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting heldin the first half of July 2017.
Likewise, the Commission extended its congratulatory message to Angola and South Africa, the other
two African countries whose cultural sites wereinscribed on the List during the same session.
In its congratulatory letter, the AUC noted that thepromotion, preservation and popularization ofAfrican Heritage Sites is in line with the AU Agenda
2063, in particular Aspiration 5 on Culture andHeritage.

Eritrea Actively Participating in the UN Process of Developing the Global Compact forSafe, Orderly and Regular Migration
As the intergovernmental thematic consultations
towards developing the Global Compact for Safe,
Orderly and Regular Migration is proceeding in fullswing, Eritrea is actively contributing to the process,including through sharing of its rich and innovativeexperience on the matter.

In his introductory remark, Mr. Amanuel stressed thatthe global compact should not be an action geared
towards promoting international migration, but rather
to map out a common strategy for a safe, orderly andregular migration, including by addressing root causesof displacements. He further noted that the Eritrean
The Chargé d'affaires of the Permanent Mission of diaspora community as part of the Eritrean society isEritrea to the United Nations, Mr. Amanuel Giorgio, included in the development strategy of Eritrea.
moderated one of the three panels organized in the Furthermore, Mr. Issayas Tesfamariam, a member offramework of the thematic session on ‘Contributions the Eritrean Diaspora community in US and Lecturerof migrants and diasporas to all dimensions of sus- at the African and Middle Eastern Languages attainable development, including remittances and Stanford University, was one of the three speakers on
portability of earned benefits,’ held on 24 and 25 July the Panel that dealt with ‘the multiple aspects andconcrete contributions of migrants and diasporas to2017 at the UN Headquarters in New York.
The Panel moderated by Mr. Amanuel discussed key sustainable development’.
economic and financial dimensions of migration anddevelopment, including remittances, and highlighted
ways to reduce the transfer costs associated with
migrant remittances as well as ways to maximize theimpact of remittances on sustainable development,including through enhancing the financial literacy
and inclusion of remittance recipients and theirfamilies. The discussion highlighted the portability ofearned benefits, including ways to ensure such measures through bilateral or multilateral agreements.

In his remarks, Mr. Issayas highlighted the key
challenges, solutions and best practices to enhance thecontribution of the African Diaspora to the continent’sdevelopment, drawing lessons from the multifaceted
contribution of the Eritrean Diaspora towards nationbuilding. He cited several exemplary projects undertaken by the Eritrean Diaspora in their homeland,
including through the provision of E-readers tostudents, teaching and medical services, investment,remittances and so on.

Vol 4. Issue 71, 01 August 2017