Addis Ababa, 15 September 2016 (ECA) – ECA’s deputy executive secretary, Giovanie Biha, handed over Ethiopia’s Tourism Master Plan to the country’s minister of tourism and culture, Mrs. Aisha Mohammed Mussa.
The master plan, which is meant to guide tourism activities in Ethiopia for the next ten years, was developed by ECA in collaboration with Ethiopia’s ministry of tourism and culture.
As a result of sweeping economic reforms, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has been enjoying unprecedented tourism growth in the recent years. International tourist arrivals have been on a growth trajectory since the 90s rising from 64,000 in 1990 to 681,249 in 2013. This has been matched by growth in the contribution of the travel and tourism sector’s direct contribution to the country’s GDP which in 2013 was 4.2%, translating to ETB 35,766.6m and is expected to grow by 4.8% p.a. reaching ETB 59, 495.2m (3.6% of GDP) by 2024.
Despite two decades of fast and sustained economic growth, Africa has not yet succeeded in translating economic gains into commensurate social development outcomes.
Kigali, Rwanda, 4 August, 2016 (ECA) - In Eastern Africa, debt stocks have risen rapidly over the past five years, but debt ratios appear to remain manageable, according to the UNCTAD Economic Development in Africa 2016 Report on “Debt Dynamics and Development Finance in Africa" which was released in July in Nairobi during UNCTAD 14.
Kampala, Uganda, 15 July 2016 (ECA) – In order to achieve sustainable economic growth, Uganda should focus on developing a more effective industrial policy based on its economic specificities and the opportunities created by regional integration.
This is according to Rodgers Mukwaya, an Economic Affairs Officer for the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), and one of the the authors of the ECA Uganda Country Profile which was presented this week in Kampala.
Kigali, 10 July 2016 (ECA) – On the eve of the Kigali 27th African Union Summit, Land Policy Initiative (LPI) - an initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC), Economic Commission (ECA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) - launched a campaign aiming at documented allocation of 30 percent of land to African Women by 2025.
The first UN Ministerial conference of the post-2015 era, UNCTAD 14 taking place in Nairobi, Kenya, will bring together governments, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector to begin to translate SDG ambitions into concrete plans of action. The theme of the conference is "From decision to action: moving toward an inclusive and equitable global economic environment for trade and development".
Kigali, Rwanda 26 May 2016 (ECA) - Three ECA publications were launched this week in Kigali.