Ethiopia National Day 2017

Government Officials, Members of the Diplomatic Corps,  the Zimbabwe Institute of Diplomacy and the Corporate World joined the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in celebrating the Ethiopia National Day on 6 June 2017 at Meikles Hotel. The National Day of Ethiopia remembers the collapse of the oppressive Derg regime, which governed the country from 1974 to 1991. It is formally and widely known as Derg Downfall Day and is a major national holiday in Ethiopia.

Downfall of the Derg Day is observed to mark the end of the oppressive Derg Regime on 28 May 1991. The event is one of the most significant festivals in Ethiopia. Heads of Diplomatic Missions accredited to Zimbabwe, Members of the Diplomatic Corps and International Organizations, Senior Government Officials, the Corporate World, Non-Governmental organizations and Civic Society graced the occasion in solidarity with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Special speeches were delivered to pay tribute and to offer laurels to the martyrs who lost their lives in the Red Terror and the Civil War. Ambassador Jonathan Wutawunashe, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department in the Zimbabwe Ministry Foreign Affairs was Guest of Honour and Speaker. In his remarks, he expressed Zimbabwe’s solidarity and friendship with Ethiopia since the liberation struggle and pronounced his profound gratitude on the consistent consolidation and growth of cooperation, partnership and engagement  between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Zimbabwe, especially with the recently launched Victoria Falls-Addis Ababa direct flight.

H.E Mustafe Dek Abdisalem, Ethiopian Ambassador to Zimbabwe reiterated Ethiopia’s resolve to fight poverty and backwardness which has been haunting Ethiopia’s past. He was proud to disclose that his country was now one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.