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13 September, 2007
Addis Ababa, 09/13 - Expressing hope that Ethiopia would rank among middle-income countries in the next two decades, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has called on his compatriots to stay the course of the country`s renaissance.
Marking the Ethiopian New Year and second millennium, Meles urged the people to continue to work hard to make the current reality a mere footnote in their long history.
"It is with a sense of historical mission and total confidence in our capacity to overcome all challenges that I call upon you today to join hands to rebuild an Ethiopia that we can all be proud of," he said.
Following its traditional calendar, Ethiopia Wednesday began year 2000 and the second millennium, seven years behind the rest of the world that follows the Gregorian calendar.
Five leaders of Ethiopia`s neighbours, namely presidents Omar Hassan El-Bashir of Sudan, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Ismail Omar Guelle of Djibouti, Mwai Kibaki of Kenya and Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed of Somalia converged on the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, for the celebrations.
Also, African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson Alpha Oumar Konare attended the colourful festivities with the presidents at the newly-built Millennium Hall where Ethiopian musicians from the Diaspora entertained invited guests and members of the public who could afford an entry fee of 1,500 Birrs (about US$150).
Meles said it was with the rekindled hope and confidence of the last years of the second millennium that called upon his compatriots to realize the Ethiopian renaissance in all its forms.
According to the Prime Minister, Ethiopia has in the last few years begun to fight back the darkness of poverty and backwardness with success.
"Our economy has been growing at over 10 percent per annum and, on current trends, we should achieve our objective of becoming a middle income country in about 20 years," Meles stated.