ADDIS ABABA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Former Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome has said that the China-proposed Outlook on Peace and Development in the Horn of Africa (HOA) to support regional countries in addressing security, development and governance challenges is highly appreciated.
"The move and the initiative China has taken is highly appreciated," the former Ethiopian president told Xinhua in a recent interview, as he commended China's facilitating role to bring about lasting peace and stability in the region.
The First China-Horn of Africa Peace, Good Governance and Development Conference was held in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, from June 20 to 21. The high-level regional peace and development conference brought together ministers and senior government officials of HOA countries of Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Uganda and Djibouti, who were joined by Xue Bing, the special envoy for the Horn of Africa Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"It was a Chinese initiative to bring countries to talk about and discuss peace and security in our region. Of course, African countries, especially our region of IGAD member countries, have to own the agenda," Teshome said.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is an eight-member east African bloc, bringing together Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda.
The former Ethiopian president emphasized that peace and stability are important for any country to develop, as he singled out China's peaceful development experience as a prime example.
"The success stories of China, the continuous economic development in China, was due to the fact that China was peaceful - peaceful with itself and peaceful with its neighbors," he said. "We need a peaceful and stable society. In the absence of peace and stability, we can not have any investment."
He said countries in the Horn of Africa "are convinced that we need peace and stability" in the region, in which China's efforts to facilitate and bring together the neighboring countries to discuss peace, security and development "is very important."
"I hope China will continue in encouraging our region to talk about peace and stability. If Ethiopia and its neighbors are peaceful, we benefit from that," he said.
Teshome emphasized that peaceful coexistence is a mainstay in order to have mutually beneficial development projects between countries in the region.
Participants attending the two-day conference in Addis Ababa last month concluded their engagement by issuing a 12-point joint statement stating that participants conducted in-depth discussions on regional peace, development and governance in an atmosphere of unity, candor, pragmatism, and mutual respect.
Teshome, who was the president of Ethiopia from October 2013 to 2018, has served the East African country in different high-level capacities, including as Ethiopia's Ambassador to China.
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