The agency largely quoted Minister of State for Finance, Eyob Tekalign, who appeared in the first of the six-chaptered series “Ethiopia in the spotlight”, launched last Monday by the Office of the African Head of Government, to expound on the policies and initiatives implemented in the last six years, as well as interviews with leaders on key areas.

In the interview Tekalign told Ahmed’s press secretary, Billene Siyoum, that 2018 was a turning point in the country’s history, marking the start of changes addressing a great many controversies surrounding the formation of the State.

Regarding this process, he acknowledged that it is incomplete and that generation after generation of Ethiopians have tried to transform the country in pursuit of progress, development and prosperity.

“Those goals have so far remained elusive, as Ethiopia’s backwardness in the past has significant political impacts and difficulties in moving forward today,” he continued, and said that those problems left numerous challenges, including war, economic instability and deep grievances.

Fortunately, he stressed, the reforms initiated in 2018 represent a significant change in the country’s policies, as part of which the creation of the ruling Prosperity Party is particularly important.

The party is changing the political narrative and culture in Ethiopia, as it is introducing an inclusive political agenda for the first time, he said.

Addressing the economic aspect, the Ethiopian minister recalled that the modifications focused on fostering a more resilient economy, improving the efficiency of the public sector and balancing it with the private sector.

On the latter, he said an enabling environment was created to make it an engine of economic growth, as around 70 percent of bank lending now goes to private enterprises rather than the public sector, like it used to be before implementing the reforms.