Ethiopian gov't hails Beijing horticulture expo

ADDIS ABABA, May 11 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government on Saturday hailed the Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition as an imputes to promote Ethiopia's booming horticulture sector to the world market.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which noted that Ethiopia's floriculture and coffee commodities are currently being showcased at the expo, stressed on Saturday the Ethiopian government's huge expectation from the expo in promoting the country's horticulture sector.

The Beijing International Horticultural Exhibition, which kicked off on April 29, is the largest expo of its kind in the world by attracting exhibitors from 110 countries and international organizations.

The expo, which incorporates both indoor displays and outdoor gardens that highlights the integration of life and ecology, will last until Oct. 7 with an estimated 16 million visitors from around the world.

During its expo's six-month run, Ethiopia's pavilion will exhibit the country's floricultural and horticultural products as well as promoting Ethiopia's tourism attractions and cultural heritages, the ministry said in its periodic publication issued on Saturday.

"During the first week of the Expo, the Ethiopian pavilion caught the eyes of more than 7,000 visitors who were impressed by the colorful flowers on display and the traditional coffee ceremony," the ministry said.

Ethiopia's high-level delegation at the Beijing expo comprises senior government officials, experts as well as representatives of the business community.

It also revealed that the Ethiopian delegation, during the next months of the expo, "will organize a series of colorful cultural performances in China to add a further dimension to the cultural and other attractions on display."

Ethiopia's delegation, which was initially led by Ethiopia's Minister of Agriculture Oumer Hussien during, is exhibiting its flowers and coffee as well as "its extensive networks of tourist attractions to the Chinese public and to the world," the ministry said.

The East African country's participation at the expo is being overseen by a National Steering Committee that brings together various government and private entities, in which Ethiopia's State Minister of Agriculture Aynalem Nigusie was nominated as a Commissioner-General for Ethiopia's Pavilion at the Beijing Expo.

Ethiopia's high-level delegation also includes representatives of commercial horticultural farmers, led by Zelalem Mesele, President of Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association.

Ethiopia's National Steering Committee had also launched its own theme, "Thirteen Months of Green Production," to promote the country at the expo, as the committee described it as a new platform "to create a new horizon for world horticulture and new model of ecological civilization."

According to the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ethiopia's theme at the expo "portrays a picture of sustainable, harmonious and eco-friendly horticulture, produced all the year round."

Noting the "exuberant mood of visitors of Ethiopian pavilion," the ministry also quoted the Ethiopian Ambassador to China, Teshome Toga Chanaka, as saying that "the platform unfolds a new prospect and vitality for Ethiopia's horticultural commodities and tourist attractions to penetrate the huge China's market."

Chanaka also stressed that the theme of the expo, "Live Green, Live Better," closely aligned with Ethiopia's own Climate Resilient Green Economy strategy.

The ministry also stressed that China "driven by the expanding middle classes' strong level of consumer confidence, backed by a younger generation who see cut flowers as part of daily life, is becoming the largest potential marketplace of horticultural products."

"Beijing Expo 2019 marks a new chapter and will help to open doors for Ethiopian horticulture producers and exporters to translate their global market successes into action on China as well," the ministry added.