Addis
Ababa, June 6 (ENA)--Ethiopia and the Netherlands have signed agreed minutes
here on Wednesday upon concluding the two-day bilateral consultation meeting.
After
detailed discussion both sides have reached consensus on the priority areas for
future Ethio-Netherlands co-operation in the sectors, among others, of
education, health and food security, a press release issued by the ministry of
Economic Development and Cooperation (MEDaC) said.
According
to the agreement, the Netherlands government will make available 174.9 million
Birr for the implementation of various projects and programs for the year 2001.
Out
of the total grant fund, 122.1 million Birr is to be disbursed for on-going
bilateral cooperation projects and the balance 52.8 million Birr is reserved for
projects that are in pipeline and to be presented by the Ethiopian side, the
release said.
Mulatu
Teshome, MEDAC vice minister and Dick den Haas, charge d' affairs of the royal
Netherlands to Ethiopia signed the agreed minutes.
The
long-term objective for Netherlands Development co-operation in Ethiopia is to
contribute to poverty reduction and sustainable development through improving
access to social services, empowerment of local communities, income generation
activities and promotion of equitable economic growth, the release indicated.
(END)