Ethiopian Foreign Ministry and ECA sign lease agreement for additional land

Addis Ababa, 25 January 2007 (ECA) – The Ethiopian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Tekeda Alemu, and UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa , Abdoulie Janneh, yesterday signed an agreement granting the Commission additional land for the construction of a new office building and other facilities.

The new plot of land measures 28,995 square metres and is located in the Kazanchis area of Addis Ababa, adjacent to the United Nations Conference Center.

Expressing his gratitude, Mr. Janneh said that the land grant was an important reinforcement of the foundation on which the partnership between the Government, the people of Ethiopia and ECA is built.

“It is an additional gesture of solidarity, not only for ECA but also for the entire UN family”, added Mr. Janneh.

With this new plot of land, Ethiopia has now granted a total of 133,456 square meters of land to the United Nations.

In his introductory remarks, the Ethiopian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Tekeda Alemu underscored how beneficial the partnership and friendship between Ethiopia and ECA has been throughout the years. He also pointed out how much he valued the important contribution of ECA to Africa's development.

Several ECA senior officials and staff from the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry attended the signing ceremony.