Ethiopian New Year Gala

Ethiopian New Year Gala: A Night of Culture and Investment Opportunities
The Embassy of Ethiopia, hosted a gala celebration of the Ethiopian New Year. The event, organized in collaboration with The International Club of DC, showcased Ethiopia’s rich cultural heritage and presented a window into the abundant investment opportunities in the country.
The evening featured captivating performances and presentations, immersing guests in Ethiopia’s historical significance as the “Land of Origins” and the Cradle of Humankind. Attendees were treated to insights on tourism, business, and investment opportunities to explore Ethiopia’s treasures and discover its immense potential while enjoying Ethiopian cuisines, a night of cultural exchange and traditional drinks.

H.E Ambassador Zelalem Birhan, Deputy Chief of Mission, extended a warm welcome to attending guests and highlighted Ethiopia’s rich cultural heritage and relaying Ethiopia’s wealth extends beyond history, with UNESCO-recognized treasures like the Obelisks of Axum, rock-hewn churches of Lalibela, and the castles of Gondar. It’s a land intertwined with legends of the Queen of Sheba, the Ark of the Covenant, and the birthplace of coffee.
Furthermore, Ambassador Zelalem forwarded his appreciation to Mr. Sanjaya Hettihewa, President of International Club of DC and all that played a role in the eventful turnout of the evening, for co-hosting such an event with the embassy that will, not only, further and enrich the exchange of cultures but promote understanding among people and enhance our friendship.
The Ethiopian New Year celebration, which falls on September 11, except on leap year, which fell on September 12 2023 this year. The Ethiopian New Year is a testament to Ethiopia’s distinct calendar, with 13 months in a year, which reflects the nation’s rich history, ancient traditions, and religious heritage.

በአሜሪካ የሚኖሩ ኢትዮጵያውያንና ትውልድ ኢትዮጵያውያን የዳያስፖራ አባላት ለአገራችን ሰላም፣ልማትና አንድነት ድጋፋቸውን እንደሚያጠናክሩ አስታወቁ።

በዋሽንግተን የኢፌዲሪ ኤምባሲ የ2016 ዓም የዘመን መለወጫ ዋዜማ በዓልን በዋሺንግተን ዲሲና አካባቢው ከሚኖሩ የዳያስፖራ አባላት እና ጥሪ የተደረገላቸው እንግዶች በተገኙበት በድምቀት አክብሯል።
በአሜሪካ የኢፌዲሪ ልዩ መልዕክተኛ እና ባለሙሉ ስልጣን አምባሳደር ዶ/ር ስለሺ በቀለ ባስተላለፉት መልዕክት አዲሱ ዓመት ካሳለፍናቸው ስኬቶችና ፈተናዎች ትምህርት በመቅሰም ለአገር የሚበጁትን እንደ ወረት ይዘን ለአገራችን ልማትና አንድነት ቃል የምንገባበት ወቅት ነው ብለዋል።
መጪውን አመት ከዛሬዋ ዋዜማ ቀን ጀምረን በአንድነት፣ በመተዛዘን፣ በመቻቻል፣ እና በመከባበር በአብሮነት ለጋራ ድል በአዲስ ልብና በአዲስ መንፈስ መነሳት ይኖርብናል ሲሉ ገልጸዋል።

ባሳለፍነው አመት በአገራችን በርካታ ስኬቶች መመዝገባቸዉን ከእነዚህ መካከል ለአብነት የሚጠቀሰዉ በሰሜኑ የሀገራችን ክፍል ጦርነት ቆሞ በድርድር መፍታት መቻሉ ፣ የታላቁ የኢትዮጵያ ህዳሴ ግድብ 4ኛ ዙር የዉሃ ሙሌት በድል መጠናቀቁ ፣ ኢትዮጵያ ወደ ብሪክስ አባል ሀገራት መቀላቀልዋ ፣ ሌሎች ማህበራዊ እና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ስኬቶች መገኘታቸዉ እና በአንጻሩም በአሁኑ ወቅት በአማራ እና ኦሮሚያ ክልል የሚታዩ የፀጥታ ችግሮች እንዲፈቱ ትኩረት አግኝተዉ እየተሰራባቸዉ እንዳለ አዉስተዉ ይህም ለቀጣይ ስኬቶቻችን ስንቅ እንደሚሆን ጠቁመዋል ።
አገራችን በገጠሟት ፈተናዎች ሁሉ ዳያስፖራው እውቀቱን፣ ገንዘቡንና ጉልበቱን ጭምር ሳይሰስት ላበረከተው አስተዋጽኦ ምስጋና ያቀረቡት አምባሳደር ስለሺ፤ አሁንም ወደማይናወጽ ሰላም፣ ልማትና አንድነት ለመሻገር ዳያስፖራው ገንቢ ሚናውን እንዲያጠናክር ጥሪ አቅርበዋል።
በዝግጅቱ ላይ የተሳተፉ የሀይማኖት አባቶችም አዲሱ ዓመት ሰላም የሰፈነበት፣ ዜጎች ተረጋግተው የሚኖሩበት እና አብሮነት የሚጎለብትበት እንዲሆን ሁሉም የበኩሉን እንዲወጣ ጠይቀዋል።
የዳያስፖራ አደረጃጃት ተወካዮችና ታዳሚዎች በበኩላቸው በአገራችን የሚታዩ የሰላም መደፍረሶችን በዘላቂነት ለመፍታት ሁሉም አካል ለንግግር ቅድሚያ እንዲሰጥ ጥሪ ያቀረቡ ሲሆን ለአገራቸው የሚያደርጉት አስተዋጽኦ በአዲሱ ዓመትም ተጠናክሮ እንደሚቀጥል አስታውቀዋል።

The Ethiopian Embassy held an event that showcased Ethiopian New Year Celebration

In a lively and colorful event, guests were immersed in the rich cultural tapestry of Ethiopia at the Ethiopian New Year Celebration held at the Embassy of Ethiopia in collaboration with Things To Do DC/ Embassy Experiences. The evening was a vibrant showcase of Ethiopian traditions, offering a unique opportunity for participating guests to experience the Ethiopian New Year celebration.

The celebration commenced with a warm welcome from H.E Ambassador Seleshi Bekele, who emphasized the significance of the Ethiopian New Year and its deep-rooted cultural importance. His opening remarks set the tone for an evening filled with cultural exchanges and mutual appreciation.
Throughout the event, attendees were treated to a mesmerizing display of images and videos showcasing the diverse tourist attractions, cultural experiences, traditional Ethiopian dances, and enjoy authentic Ethiopian cuisines, each offering a taste of the nation’s unique flavours.
The event served as a bridge, allowing non-Ethiopian guests to gain a deeper understanding of the traditions and customs surrounding the Ethiopian New Year, leaving attendees with a newfound appreciation for the richness of Ethiopian culture.

The embassy attended a Book Launch: Ketema Yifru: A Champion of Peace, Progress, and Pan-Africanism

Author Makonnen Ketema, son of Ketema Yifru; who’s father was a once prominent figure that served as a Foreign Minister; contributing a great deal to Ethiopian Foreign Policy, played a pivotal role in the creation of the Organization of African Unity and was instrumental in finding solutions to various conflicts across the African continent, has written and published a book titled; Ketema Yifru: A Champion of Peace, Progress, and Pan-Africanism.
H.E Ambassador Zelalem Birhan, Deputy Chief of Mission attended The Book Launch, which was held at Hilton Arlington Hotel in Virginia; he gave remarks on the successful launch of the book; which tells the remarkable life and achievements of H.E Ketema Yifru, who came from humble beginnings but managed to make significant strides not only for Ethiopia but also for the African continent at large.

The book delves deep into the life of HE Ketema Yifru, exploring his early years, educational background, and the challenges he faced on his journey to becoming a key figure in Ethiopian and African diplomacy. It sheds light on the strategies and visions he employed to cement ties across nations and champion Pan-African ideals. His commitment to peaceful dialogue and constructive engagement made him a respected figure among his peers and leaders of other nations.
Ambassador Zelalem, in his remarks, emphasized the importance of documenting and understanding our history to inform the present and guide the future. He lauded the author, Makonnen Ketema, for his meticulous research and dedication in capturing the essence of his father’s legacy in the book. Such works serve as a testament to the indomitable spirit of individuals who rise above challenges to contribute positively to the global discourse.
The event at Hilton Arlington Hotel was graced by distinguished guests, including, historians, academics, and members of the Ethiopian diaspora.

HE Ambassador Dr. Seleshi Bekele met with Ethiopian ‘Mandela Washington Fellowship’ participants

Today, HE Ambassador Dr. Seleshi welcomed to the Embassy of Ethiopia, Washington, D.C., young Ethiopian professionals that participated at the 2023’s Mandela Washington Fellowship.
Ambassador Seleshi made remarks and encouraged accomplishments of the young professionals’ career and congratulated them for representing their country as selected fellows of the Mandela Washington Fellowship as they represent brighter future generation.

A discussion was held with the young fellows on current affairs; as The Ambassador briefed them on the Embassy’s overall tasks undertaken by the diplomats and overall staff at the Embassy. The participating fellows networked with the Embassy’s staff members and visited the embassy.
Participating fellows shared their overall experience during their stay, raised various topics in the discussion; including a broad range of bright ideas stemming from their profession in Ethiopia leading on different capacities ranging from Healthcare, ICT, Business and Investment, Engineering, public and private sectors. The fellowship participants are eager to support their home country by working alongside governmental and non-governmental institutions to encourage and inspire young generations.
Mandela Washington Fellowship is held annually; an initiative taken by the US government to establish stronger ties between sub-Saharan Africa and the United States.

#WashFellowship

የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ቡድን የወዳጅነት ጨዋታ ለማድረግ አሜሪካ መግባቱ ይታወቃል።

የኢትዮጵያ ብሔራዊ ቡድን 🇪🇹 በዛሬው ምሽት ከጉያና ብሔራዊ ቡድን 🇬🇾 ጋር ያደረገውን የወዳጅነት ጨዋታ 2- 0 በማሸነፍ በድል ተጠናቋል።
በቨርጂኒያ ሴግራ ፊልድ ስታዲየም በተደረገው ጨዋታ የአማካይ ተጫዋቹ ሽመልስ በቀለ በ11ኛው እና በ76ኛው ደቂቃ ለዋልያዎቹ የማሸነፊያ ግቦቹን ማስቆጠር ችሏል።

በርካታ ኢትዮጵያውያንና ትውልደ ኢትዮጵያውያን በስታዲየም በመገኘት ድጋፋቸውን በማሰማት ተከታትለዋል።
ብሔራዊ ቡድኑ በአሜሪካ ሁለተኛ የወዳጅነት ጨዋታውን ሐምሌ 29/2015 ከአትላንታ ሮቨርስ ክለብ ጋር ያደርጋል።
ድል ለኢትዮጵያ!

The Embassy of Ethiopia and the U.S.-Africa Business Center have agreed to work closely to enhance trade and investment relations between Ethiopia and the United States.

Today, H.E. Ambassador Dr. Seleshi Bekele held discussions with Mr. Scott Eisner, President of the U.S.-Africa Business Center, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and his team.

The Ambassador briefed the team on investment opportunities and the various economic reform measures being implemented in Ethiopia to encourage the private sector and attract foreign investments, including liberalization of the telecommunications sector, privatization of sugar factories, establishment of a Capital Market and Stock Exchange, and the resolution to open up the banking and financial sectors to foreign investors.
Given the vast trade and investment opportunities available in Ethiopia for U.S. businesses, the Ethiopian Embassy and the U.S.-Africa Business Center have agreed to work closely to enhance trade and investment relations between Ethiopia and the United States.

Human Capital is the Entry Point to Sustaining Development: DPM and FM Demeke

A high-level delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H.E. Demeke Mekonnen is participating in “The African Human Capital Heads of State Summit” that is underway in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister took a part as a panellist in a high-level panel discussion on education entitled “Are We Ready to Invest in Education and Productivity of Young Africans?” this afternoon. He said, human development is the entry point to sustaining development and properly address inclusivity agenda as a whole. It’s high time to invest in people and that Africans as a rising continent should focus on and invest in Human Capital development, H.E. Demeke added.
Alluding to the fact that the Government of Ethiopia has seamlessly aligned the “Ten-Year Development Plan” with the human capital development agenda, the DPM and FM underscored the utmost focus placed on education as the core of the Plan.

Mr. Demeke also reiterated the commitment of the Government to effect quality, accessible, affordable and relevant education for all citizens. To this end, he added, Ethiopia will strive continuously to mobilise resources and work closely with domestic and foreign partners including the World Bank, the private sector and civil society.
For the achievement of these goals, he reaffirmed that the country would keep working to mobilize resources with its domestic and foreign development partners, including the World Bank, the private sector, communities and civil society.
Other panellists include, Excellencies Presidents Samia Suluhu Hassan (Tanzania) and Dr. Julius Maada Bio (Sierra Leone); Prime Ministers Hamza Abdi Barre (Somalia) and Cleopas Dlamini (Eswatini) and ; Vice President Mariam Chabi Talata (Benin).

ክቡር አምባሳደር ዶ/ር ስለሺ በቀለ የኢትዮጵያ እስልምና ጉዳዮች ጠቅላይ ም/ቤት ፕሬዝደንት ክቡር ሼህ ሐጅ ኢብራሂም ቱፋ የመሩት ልኡካን ቡድንን በዛሬው እለት ሐምሌ 18 ቀን 2015 ዓም በዋሺንግተን ዲሲ የኢትዮጵያ ኤምባሲ በጽህፈት ቤታቸው ተቀብለው ውይይት አካሂደዋል።

ክቡር አምባሳደር ዶ/ር ስለሺ በቀለ በእለቱ ባደረጉት ንግግር የልኡካን ቡድኑ በአሜሪካ የተለያዩ ግዛቶች ማለትም ዲኤምቪ ፣ ሚኒሶታ ፣ ዋሺንግተን ሲያትል እና ቴክሳስ ሂውስተን ያደረገዉ የስራ ጉብኝት የመጣበትን አላማ ለማሳካት ከፍተኛ ፋይዳ ያለዉ መሆኑን ጠቅሰው፤ በአሜሪካ የተለያዩ ግዛቶች የሚገኙ የኢትዮጵያ የሙስሊም ዳያስፖራ ተቋማት ፣ አደረጃጀቶች እና ማህበረሰብ በሀገራቸዉ ጉዳይ ላይ ከአሁን በፊት ያደርጉ የነበረዉን አስተዋጽኦ እና ተሳትፎ ይበልጥ ያጠናከረ፤ ከትዉልድ ሃገራቸዉ ጋር እንዲተሳሰሩ የሚረዳ እንዱሁም ዳያስፖራዉን ለልማት ያነቃቃ ተግባር መሆኑን ጠቅሰው ኤምባሲዉ የሚሰራውን ሁሉአቀፍ የዲፕሎማሲ ስራ በተለይ ደግሞ የዳያስፖራ ተሳትፎና አገልግሎት ስራዎችን ለልኡካን ቡድኑ አብራርተዋል።

በሚኒሶታ የሚገኘው Islamic University of Minnesota ለክቡር ሼህ ሐጂ ኢብራሂም ቱፋ እና ለአዲስ አበባ መጅሊስ ፕሬዝዳንት ለሼህ ሱልጣን አማን ኤባ ላበረከተላቸው የክብር ዶክትሬት እንኳን ደስ አላችሁ ሲሉ ተናግረዋል።
ክቡር ሼህሐጅ ኢብራሂም ቱፋ በበኩላቸው በኤምባሲው ለተደረገላቸው ደማቅ አቀባበልና ገለፃ አመስግነው በተለያዩ ግዛቶች ከኢትዮጵያ ከሙስሊም ማህበረሰብና የተለያዩ አደረጃጀቶች ጋር ያደረጉት ቆይታ የተሳካ እንደነበርና ኤምባሲው ያደረገው ድጋፍ ውጤታማ እንደነበር ገልጸዋል።
በተጨማሪም ኤምባሲው የሚያደርገው ዘርፈ-ብዙ የዳያስፖራ አገልግሎት የሚበረታታ መሆኑን አክለው ጠቅሰዋል።

Ethiopian Airlines celebrates its 25th anniversary on its commencement of its flight services to the United States

On July 19th, 2023 HE Ambassador Seleshi Bekele attended the momentous occasion and made remarks on the achievement of the milestone as Ethiopian Airlines expands its international network and enhances its presence in the United States. Furthermore, the Ambassador stated, in addition to the existing flight services to Washington, D.C. New York, Newark, Chicago and the recent addition of the Addis Ababa-Atlanta route (which started in May 2023) will further strengthen the economic ties, boost tourism and trade partnerships between the two nations; while strengthening the bilateral relations.

On this occasion, Ethiopian Airlines Regional Director for the Americas, Mr. Samson Arega noted, Ethiopia is amongst the top tourist destinations in Africa and has been designated as one of the “Top Ten Countries to Visit” by Lonely Planet. Mr. Samson Arega further added Ethiopian airlines remains dedicated with its committed team to continue its’ services and expand its destination.
The 25 yrs anniversary its flight services to the United States marks an important juncture for the continued and long-lasting relationship between Ethiopia and the United States.