China,Ethiopia vow to continue strengthening cooperation

Ethiopia and China on Monday vowed to continue strengthening their bilateral cooperation along legacies of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

This came at a time when Hailemariam Desalegn, Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister met and held talks with Hui Liangyu, Chinese Vice Premier and Special Envoy, at the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs here in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia.

The meeting took place following Ethiopia's state funeral service for the late Prime Minister on Sunday, which a high-level Chinese delegation led by the vice premier attended at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa.

During the talks on Monday, the two sides focused on issues related to sharing grief and mourning on the untimely passing away of the late PM Zenawi, and also on issues related to strengthening the bilateral cooperation between Ethiopia and China, Seyoum Mesfin, Ethiopian Ambassador to China, told reporters after the meeting.

"The two leaders agreed that we need to do both at home and with friends abroad, like China, it is to celebrate the life of the late Prime Minister and to work along the legacies he left for the country, for fast development, for defeating poverty, and building prosperous and strong nation economically, politically, and diplomatically," said Mesfin.

Mesfin said: "China is our main partner in development, our partnership in promoting our manufacturing sector and they are committed to continue with their engagement with Ethiopia, their tremendous appreciation to the role played by our late PM both at home and internationally."

"we should not, even for a moment stop, but continue working very hard to build our society and our nation; and the Chinese share this feeling, this commitment, and they are ready to support the Ethiopian people, the Ethiopian government, and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to continue in building the nation in all respects and action," he added.

China is a true partner, and Ethiopia would continue working with China and other development partners to overcome poverty, transform its economy, and achieve success of its renaissance, he said.