LocationsRemarks by Ms. Ahunna Eziakonwa-Onochie
UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Regional Director for Africa
Signing Ceremony for SEEDS: UNDP and the Government of Canada,
10 February 2020
H.E. Ms. Birtukan Mideksa, Chairperson of the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia,
Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada,
H.E Antoine Chevrier, Ambassador of Canada to Ethiopia
Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are holding the signing ceremony on the sidelines of the African Union Summit that is organised under the theme ‘Silencing the Guns’ and I believe nothing silences the guns more than free and credible elections.
That is why I am deeply honoured to be here today to be in Addis to witness the signing ceremony between the Government of Canada and UNDP to support Ethiopia to hold a free, fair, credible and peaceful national election in 2020.
I understand that the SEEDS project is the very first project supported by the new democracy fund established in 2019 by the Government of Canada. I see this as a sign of your commitment to Ethiopia and your trust in the partnership with UNDP. This will go a long way to strengthen our future collaboration in the areas of promoting democracy and governance in Ethiopia and beyond.
By signing this agreement, Canada joins a group of commitment development partners in supporting elections through the UNDP managed multi-partner election Supporting Elections for Ethiopia’s Democracy Strengthening project (SEEDS).
Madam Birtukan, the eyes of all Ethiopians and the world are on you to deliver a free and credible election this year. I do not envy you this task, but let me assure you that I am more than confident that through the SEEDS project we will work together to provide the best possible assistance to the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia to effectively deliver on its mandate. But you are not alone. As the African proverb goes, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”, so rest assured that we are on the complex journey with you.
Excellencies,
UNDP and Canada are not strangers to each other. We are long-time partners who have years of collaboration in promoting sustainable development here in Ethiopia and across Africa. For example, here in Ethiopia, Canada was one of the earliest supporters of UNDP’s entrepreneurship programme that is slowly but surely helping to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit of over 80,000 Ethiopians across the country, including women and youth who make up the bulk of the desperately unemployed.
Allow me to commend the generosity of Canada, which is helping to improve the livelihoods and security of millions of people around the world. I am of course personally touched by your continued commitment to champion gender equality and empowerment of women across the world.
As UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Africa Director, let me take this opportunity to stress that I also personally look forward to scaling up our cooperation with Canada across the region to deliver the promise on the SDGs.
Thank you.
