Hon. Kassa Tekleberhan was visiting IGAD upon invitation by Ambassador (Engineer) Mahboub Maalim to share the extensive experience Ethiopia has in the federalism political system. “We’re very much gratified by the visit of Hon. Kassa Tekleberhan to our offices and institution”, were the first words by the Executive Secretary to welcome his guest.
“We need to learn from each other and it is in this respect that we invited Hon. Kassa Tekleberhan. We know that 48% of the world population live in federal republics and we also want people in our region to benefit from more decentralized political systems,” he said.
Hon. Kassa Tekleberhan thanked the Executive Secretary for his warm welcome. He added that the “region was suffering from poverty and had some security concerns and we’re embarking on programs and projects to change this negative image.
Hon. Kassa Tekleberhan highlighted that “federalism enables people to participate more in governance and help them get more ownership of their political lives in a decentralized political system. IGAD can become the creator of a Forum where ideas can be exchanged. We’re not saying that there’s one formula that can fit everybody, we’re just here to share ideas and share experience and we’re ready to collaborate. Creating trust between our countries is our goal. We need a stable region and we need to create an integrated big market to help our peoples”.
