Interview to Les nouvelles d’Addis
Paris, Raphaël Hôtel, April 16th, 2005, 11h00

by Alain Leterrier
interpreter French-Amharic-English : Katia Girma
photos : Afework Girma

LNA. Why this State Visit in France now?
MZ. The reason I came now is because I fell the very good relations between France and Ethiopia are gathering moment and I felt that it was time to give them another impulse so that they become excellent.

LNA. You have met President Chirac this morning. What did he say to you? What did he ask you? And, what did you suggest him as far as bilateral relations are concerned?
MZ. The meeting was a brilliant one, probably the best I have had with President Chirac. We discussed bilateral issues, trade, investment, cultural cooperation. And on all of these points...on bilateral cooperation, we agreed, we also discussed regional issues, the conflicts in the region, Somalia, Sudan, Eritrea. On all these matters we have the same opinion.

LNA. Even on the regional policy, even on the conflict against Eritrea?
MZ. On Eritrea, the position of France is as follows: first, they insist that the boundary commission decision is legally and bindy, we agree. They insist that there should be dialogue for the implementation of the decision and for the normalization of relations between our two countries. We agree. They insist that there should not be any conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, we agree.

LNA. Concerning the economical development issues, you are one of the defender of the debt cancellation for the poor countries. Do you think that it might be the solution for the development of these countries, including yours?
MZ. Well, debt cancellation is part of the solution, it is not the whole solution. It is part of the solution and in this regard, I have to highlight the fact that France has cancelled all the debt that Ethiopia owe to France and more importantly, France has been in avant-garde of debt cancellation, not only for the Ethiopian one but also for the whole continent. And this for us is a very important issue.

LNA. What are the investment opportunities in Ethiopia? How can you convince the French investors to come to Ethiopia?
MZ. Well, as you know Ethiopia is a poor country and it can absorb as much foreign investment as it can ever get. All the past few years, there has been a number of French companies investing in our country, some are interested in infrastructures like Alcatel, Areva; some are interested in selling a product that we need, such as Airbus; some are interested in investing in our country, such as some flower companies. And over the past two or three years there has been a very significant improvement in investment between France and Ethiopia. There is an agreement between France and Ethiopia which provides guarantees for investment. We are now discussing a possibility of signing an agreement to avoid double taxation. French companies in Ethiopia are taxed in Ethiopia and then they are also taxed in France. We are discussing now to make sure that they are not taxed twice and that is a wish emanating from the two governments to find a solution to this double taxation. This will boost investment between the two countries.

LNA. Concerning the development of the capital Addis-Ababa. There is a lot of works in progress in Addis-Ababa. How do you manage to develop the African capital without causing it to loose its soul and without driving away its population's working classes?
MZ. I agree with you that there is a lot of construction activity going on in Addis-Ababa. We are revamping the whole city. We are trying to make sure that those who have low income also benefit from this activity and we are doing this using a number of policies, of mechanisms. First, the government is building low cost housing and those who have low income will have preferential access to this low cost housing on the basis of mortgage, cheap, low interest mortgage. The municipality is building low cost housing. The plan is to build hundred of thousands of low cost houses for the people in Addis-Ababa. Now, while we build these low cost houses, we are doing it by involving small and micro enterprises. So, the poor people will not only have the housing but they will also have the opportunity to work on this housing project. At the same time, we are encouraging private investors to build houses for people who have high income.

LNA. About the general elections. Did the EPRDF coalition make modifications or new proposals in the program it will submit on May, 15th?
MZ. Primarily, the EPRDF is maintaining its fundamental positions. We feel that, particularly in the past two years, the results of the policy are beginning to show. As you probably know, we have a doubled digit gross in the economy, for the past two years our exports have been growing more than 25% per year. And so we feel, because the policy has produced results there is not need to change.

LNA. What will you answer to opposition leaders who say that the federation is still very centralized?
MZ. Most of those who criticize our federal policy suggest that it has been decentralized too much and too fast. I am very happy that there are some people who criticize us for not decentralizing enough because it will balance much of the criticisms which are coming from the other side. For me, it seems that we are about right if there are many people who criticize us for not decentralizing and many who criticize us for decentralizing too much. Perhaps we are in the middle and that middle position is good.

LNA. Personally, how do you enter the election? Will we have a fifth interview in Les nouvelles d'Addis?
MZ. Well, I am here in Paris. The election campaign is going on in Addis-Ababa. I do not think people who are worried about the result of the election would leave for a visit at the time when the election is going on. So, I am confident that we will see each other not only for the fifth time but also for the sixth and. [rires]

LNA. We reserve the next rendez-vous!
MZ. [rire]

LNA. During this three days visit – a very important one – France did insit much about the regional issues. Can Ethiopia bring something to the democratization in the region?
MZ. The most important contribution we can make for democracy in our region is to make sure that democracy is strong and vibrant in our country. The population of Ethiopia is about 72 millions and that is a large percentage of the whole population in the Horn of Africa. If 72 millions people can prove that we can have a vibrant democracy, it will have a positive effect throughout the neighborhood. And this, we think, is the main contribution we can make.

LNA. Last question. Will you have relations with the new South Sudan?
MZ. We have very good relations with the SPLA and the SPLM. We have also good relations with the government in Sudan. Ethiopia is one of the few countries which has very good relations with both sides and we are doing our very best to help them to implement their agreement.