Addis Ababa, Dec. 18(ENA)--Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's visit to the United States, which focused on the country's development challenges, prospects and vision, was constructive and productive, Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin said.

Seyoum told reporters that the discussions Prime Minister Meles held with President George W. Bush and other senior U.S. government officials as well as representatives of multilateral financial institutions was successful in that it helped secure positive responses to address prevailing drought in the country.

The U.S. government and the financial institutions had expressed readiness to help the country obtain sufficient assistance to mitigate the ill effects of the drought, to boost the capacity of health institutions in a bid to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS,Seyoum said.

The promises have already started to materialize, he said.

The U.S. President and his senior advisors have been given briefed on the country’s current situations and development programs, he said.

Prime Minister Meles had also held discussions with U.S. entrepreneurs and Ethiopian academicians on the investment climate in Ethiopia, Seyoum said, adding he had called Ethiopians in the Diaspora to work in support of the efforts exerted to extricate the country from the grip of poverty and backwardness.

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