From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Sat Oct 18 2008 - 18:37:55 EDT
President Isaias Afwerki's Interview with Japan Times
By
Oct 18, 2008, 13:38
Japan Times is Japan's leading English daily, based in Tokyo, which has over 450,000 readers both in Japan and across the world. The news paper is accredited for its being the source of information. Japan and Eritrea have always had strong relations and Japan is always showing a lot of interest and support in African Horn. In 1993 Japan launched the Tokyo International Conference for the development of Africa and this was of course to promote relations between Africa and Asia. Then in 1999 Japan donated three hundred fifty thousand USD to Eritrea specifically through the World Food Program. However, in recent years Japan has realized the potential and the investment opportunities there are here in Eritrea and in Horn of Africa and in 2003 they pledged to invest over three hundred million USD in the Horn of Africa within a period of five years. So really, I think it is interesting to know that Japan is the fourth largest investor into Africa in the world. Recently, in August, Japanese delegation came here and they pledged their commitment to help Eritrea in terms of developmental programs and in terms of human capacity. In light of all these we believe now is the perfect time to highlight to the readers of Japan Times just how much untapped potential there is here in Eritrea. After all you have a wealth of precious resources and there is an excellent trading route, a favorable climate, strategic geographical position, low land and sea cost. Really everything is there. The potential is there. The key to more prosperous Eritrea is going to through foreign direct investment. Therefore, through our special report we intent to show how the government here is committed to creating an environment that is conducive to development. Our report is the perfect vehicle to show the potential relations and investment opportunities there are between Eritrea and Japan. In particular, of course, in the sectors of agriculture, mining, fisheries, tourism, and construction. It will be extremely important as the leader of the country that we have a strong message coming from yourself and we are looking forward to hear what you have to say. So what do you think of our initiative here?
I think the relationship is two way relationships that you can look at it from a very narrow bilateral perspective and have a broader perspective. When I say its two ways, it's how Africa looks to Japan and how Japan sees the continent. In spite of the good will and in spite of the endeavors exerted to establish partnership in trade and investment, Japan, the second largest economy, you can imagine the opportunities at the continental level. In Africa it is not there. I have always been critical about the environment for investment. Yes, we can talk about raw materials and semi-processed materials. But, this will not amount to a contribution in the partnership that needs to develop between Japan and Africa. Africa has not been a conducive place for trade and investment. This does not mean, however, Africa does not have resources. Resources are there, but, the infrastructure is not there. The physical infrastructure is not there. And most of all human infrastructures does not exist. In the absence of these basic factors it is very difficult to talk about a sustainable partnership that can grow with opportunities available. One needs to compare the opportunities in Africa with opportunities in Asia and other parts of the world. For Japan there are choices and when Japan makes choice it is based on mutual benefits and profit that will have to be there. Looking at it from that perspective, I say, we have a long way to go to develop a serious partnership between Japan and Africa. But again, within that broader scope we need to look at the bilateral partnership also its part of the Horn and we have developed a very good working relationship with Japan. They may not be huge investment and trade partnerships but we believe we are on a right track. We share almost common values for partnership. Japan believes in self reliance and we believe in self reliance. Japan believes in home grown potentials we also believe in home grown potentials. Multi lateral cooperation programs are important but again Japan also is interested in bilateral cooperation programs. We share common values on trade and investment. We have focused on priorities where we believe human resources development is a priority. If we need to have human infrastructure, institutions, educated and skilled people are the backbone of any sustainable partnership we focus on that. We also explore the possibilities that are there in terms of the favorable location of Eritrea, the potential resources, mineral resources, opportunities for tourism, agriculture and other areas. Generally speaking we understand the realities of the day and work towards a long term partnership with Japan at a bilateral level. Without under estimating the broader scope of cooperation that needs to be established between Japan and Africa and also within sub regions in the continent. We cannot talk about Africa as one piece; we need to talk about sub regions where Japan could have its own preferences in establishing ties. Southern part of the continent, the Horn of Africa, the eastern part of the continent being it one area, it is good to say that we have good communication with Japan. We believe we are on the right track as far as partnership is concerned.
Japan Times: You mentioned human resource capacity as being one of the most important economic factors toward growth and during your talks with the Japanese delegation earlier this year you raised the issue of the development of human resources within the country of Eritrea. You also raised the issue that it would be possible to do this jointly with Japan, with the Japanese effort, how do you see this cooperation will take place?
It's one area of priority. We may not emulate Japanese experience. There are very simple facts that we can draw lessons from. Japan is a small country in terms of population compared to other giants. Japan does not have natural resources compared to others. Why is Japan second largest economy? Basically it's human resource has been excelling in so many ways to bring Japan to this level. We may not copy or emulate the same experience but we can learn a lot from them. We in Eritrea believe without developing our human resource we could not be able achieve speedy economic growth. Endowments could be there but they may also be a curse. Oil, minerals, agricultural resource and what have you, you need to have educated and skilled human resources to exploit them. That human resource needs to be organized to deliver and creating an environment conducive for promoting partnership. In spite of the fact that we have so many sectors and areas of cooperation with Japan, mining, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, etc we have focused on human resources development. Hopefully by the end of this year or the year 2009 we will have a consultative arrangement where we will exchange on how to develop the concept of a frame work for bilateral cooperation programs focusing on human development. Human resources development on technical, professional skills, not focusing on tertiary education. That exchange is being going on very constructively. It would materialize any time in 2009 and we will have concrete programs for developing human resource in this country which ultimately will deliver in promoting serious and fruitful bilateral relationships with Japan.
Japan Times: Comparison can be made between Japan and Eritrea the fact that both countries have gone through wartime. Japan during the Second World War after words it has succeeded as you mentioned now is one of the largest economic powers in the world. It has succeeded in bringing up the economy again. Eritrea has implemented the Warsai-Yikaalo Development Campaign in 2003. What are the main objectives of the government for this program and the main strategies of implementation?
There could be comparisons that may not be similarities but wars are destructive. And no one ever would go for an option that leads to any kind of war. It is imposed somehow. I don't want to go in to the mechanics but we talk about development, we can talk about the Marshal Plan in Europe, after the Second World War. You can imagine the devastation that resulted from the Second World War in Europe. Europe could stand up in its two feet with the Marshal Plan. The details of that plan may be forgotten now but that was the beginning of building Europe again. Japan was most devastated. There was Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it was isolated, it was very serious problem, probably more serious than the damage we have witnessed after the Second World War in Europe. But Japan was able to make it, There was a sense of purpose. The Japanese population was not demoralized; the demolished institutions were built from scratch, and that determination was there. Without that determination nothing could have happened in Japan. I don't think it is easy to copy that example but one can learn a lot giving the circumstances after a long war here in this country. Early in 90s, 1991, we decided that we need to have our own Marshal Plan. Name it, but again we need to rebuild this country and we need to be focused. It is not wining a war or coming out victorious of a war, that doesn't matter. Any nation will have to have a vision an idea on how to implement that vision. And early on we said well, it is not easy to learn and copy from the experience of others but we need to have our own marshal plan and that is Warsai-Yikaalo. Which has been working effectively and we have gained a lot of experience and we have acquired skills and resources by practicing and implementing programs with a clearly defined orientation. That orientation is very important. Its determination could be there and resources could be there. But again focus and organization is very important, so we can't say we have achieved much, this is only the beginning. It is only no more or less than two decades and we are a very small nation. We are living in a very unstable and volatile environment and hostility is always there. Within that environment what we have achieved could be remarkable as a beginning.
Japan Times: I think a term that would summarize the concept of quality of life and improving the quality of life to the people of Eritrea, this topic has been a priority to the government and the social sector, a sector to which most of the government funds go to at the moment. How does the government want to improve the social sector?
It should be understood within a broader philosophy. We have inherited the scars of a very long war. Our philosophy of the social sector includes martyr's families, disadvantaged groups and people displaced by war. You can't go beyond the limits that are imposed upon you by this burden and we will have to solve this problem. It takes time and requires resources, but it is a temporary problem and not something that will live with us. We need to solve it as soon as possible and we need to have a package of addressing this socio-economic problem. We also need to address the disadvantages of disparity in development. There has to be an even development, every citizen will have the right of a first class citizen. Some have been deprived certain privileges because of circumstances such as war, history and other reasons. So we need to resolve these issues. And that can be done through enabling people by temporarily solving their problems and at the same time enabling them to be productive so that they can solve their own problems and contribute to the gross production of their country. Social programs, education, health as well as social security programs are a package that ultimately enables communities not only to overcome inherited problems and difficulties but also actively contribute to the economy. This is where the human resources development issue comes. Educating people, allowing them to acquire skills, enabling them to get organized and be productive and not be dependent on government or government handout or even handout from outside. That enabling environment will have to create and it has to be part of a broader program that we believe we have started. We have a very long way to go but that is the philosophy behind what we are doing in terms of promoting social programs in this country.
Japan Times: I think one thing that leads to social security and prosperity of the people of Eritrea is establishing macro-economic stability. Eritrea has tried to do so over the past few years by focusing on important factors such as increasing exports, import substitution and self-reliance principle and controlling trade balance deficits. Another thing I want to go into is the foreign direct investments, which is a good way of reducing the trade balance deficit that Eritrea has. What is your opinion on foreign direct investments, which is common to your country?
Well it is one of the driving forces behind development in any country. We live in a big village, if we can call that, a big village. It is not like in the early 20 century, it is not like what we had during the Cold War era. This is a new era where interactions amongst nations and communities, interaction among economies is the reality of the day. People talk about macroeconomics stability but you can't measure or get macroeconomics stability in one or two years. It has to be a sustainable development of an economy that will ultimately be part of the bigger process we witness happening globally. And that requires creating an environment we can't talk about big achievements in Eritrea on this areas given the fact that we are young nation, small nation. We have the devastation of the war. We have to heal the wounds of the war and create an environment for foreign direct investment in this country. How can you do that? Simply because you have resources, oil, minerals and other endowments does not mean that you have a good environment for investment. You need to have infrastructure, the physical infrastructure for foreign investment. You need to have a stable environment, sustainably stable not something that flashes at one period of time and goes back to or relapses to chaos and crisis. We need to create a very stable environment and that is a political processes. It may be a very long process but we need to make a stable environment within a nation to make the environment conductive for investment. You need to have skilled and educated human resources. That the basic you need to have functional institutions, no corruption, a sense of purpose among the population and government institutions, it is a combination of many factors that ultimately contribute to sustainable macroeconomics stability. There could be fluctuations, there could be factors influencing but sustainably there has to be a program that guarantees foreign direct investment and the ability to benefit and at the same time that benefits the population and the nation that is engaged in this partnership. There has to be an acceptable norm in dealing with foreign direct investment. It may sometimes be misconstrued as the main driving force behind development in underdeveloped economies. Underdeveloped economies cannot handle foreign direct investment if they don't have the local requirements as I mentioned earlier. So, we seriously believe in foreign direct investment, but we need to understand the mechanics of how to develop or create an environment for investment from outside and that is one area we always exchange with our Japanese partners. It could be a very slow process. It may not be easy to create that environment in a matter of one decade. But, having an orientation that takes you to the right track definitely will lead to a sustainable environment for a direct investment.
Japan Times: I can see that you are looking at the long term rather than the short term. Is Eritrea offering possibilities, for instance, in mining, fishery, tourism? We have just been a couple of days here and we have seen that it is a beautiful country. Looking at this and the possibilities that the economy of Eritrea offers to develop the world basically. What sectors do you see major developments in?
Again I will come back to the problem of size. Size is not always a problem and endowments are not always a blessing. Many things we need to have a serious program for putting in place a functional and viable physical infrastructure. You need to have roads, harbors, airports, telecommunication, energy, and services in a number of sectors and physical infrastructure.
This is a responsibility primarily of the government. Any government in any country will have to work towards creating an environment that is an incentive for investors. Without that, without roads, good infrastructure, you can't develop mining, fisheries and agriculture. You need to have an infrastructure for fisheries, for tourism, services. It is not easy. Endowments could be there. Once you have those things put in place, it is a gradual long-term process. Then you have to have a skill and well-equipped human resources in services, agriculture, mining, fisheries and other sectors. That combination will encourage investment from outside. Of course, people talk about the legal environment and legal framework, the efficiency of institutions of government, the lack of corruption and a number of other good things that need to be there. Then, we can talk about investment. We in Eritrea would like to encourage Japanese and other investors in the main sectors we think are profitable. Mining is one but it requires a lot of investment prospecting, investing in exploitation and sharing profits within a legal arrangement between the investor and the country involved, encouraging the local private sector, which is not here. You need to have partnership, develop with investors from outside, complex combination of factors and relationship that will have to be put in place. I think we are on the right track. Mining, it has started in a very small scale, but we have started. We need to expand cooperation that will have with foreign investors in this area, governments or investors from outside. Tourism needs huge investment and infrastructure and services. We have very attractive and long coastline, we have diverse climatic environment for tourism but we need to put in place an infrastructure and we need to have to train personnel and human resources that will enable the services that could be provided there. Similarly agriculture would require a lot of investments. Fisheries is not again an easy task or sector to address, you need huge infrastructure. It is not always local resources; you need to ave foreign resources involved in developing these capabilities in a number of sectors. And that's where we have always focused with our Japanese partners. Our partnership, the sectors are there, the opportunities are there, but we need to develop a mechanism, viable mechanism that enables us to exploit these resources and make profits and share profits in a reasonable manner. That sort of partnership is misunderstood in many places and areas but we can say we are on the right track as far as our engagement with our partners in Japan is concerned.
Japan Times: I think one of the strategies that Eritrea has, the government has, is the development the port, Massawa and Assab. How do you see the international role these two ports can play in international maritime transport?
It is ironic, but I would say history may repeat itself because there are certain factors that predetermine the future of developmental programs. Eritrea has been the gateway, 19 century, the end of 19th century and probably the 20th century. Probably the location and the number of other factors, I believe these factors are there; there could be social and cultural factors involved. We believe we have all those comparative advantages but potential comparative advantages need to be exploited to deliver at the end of the day and we are talking about investment along the coast. We need to have good harbors. We may not be in a position now to talk about competing with other facilities in our region where we are way behind in a number of other projects. But we are not limited or blocked by what we see is happening. We think in terms of the coming few decades 10, 20, 30 years and if we overcome the challenges of the day and be focused and continue to put in place an infrastructure along a coastline that is more than 1000km, marine life and a potential for developing tourism which is no comparable to any other area in the region. A combination of factors we consider are comparatively advantageous to us. If we can find the resource, if we can invest in creating or putting in place an infrastructure, the work force in this country is another blessing, it is educated and trained, if we have the appropriate institutions we will be in a position to have our share of the big cake.
Japan Times: I think Eritrea has done a very good job through difficult times .It has managed to keep the economy growing. And when we look at the future, as you mentioned before there are tremendous possibilities within different sectors of the economy. And Eritrea has recently celebrated the 17th anniversary of independence and basically united resistance is a guarantee for independence and sustained growth. I was wondering if you could give some final comments on this interview and specially looking towards the future of Eritrea?
It is not optimism, it is realistic optimism. The potential of this country is huge compared to the size, compared to the population but that's not always the issue referring to the Japanese experience. A small country compared relatively small, China, India and Europe, the United States you can talk about, but Japan is a country with the population no more than 140 million; it is not a big population. The geography is very small and even then the resources are very limited. Japan depends on gas, oil and other resources from outside, minerals from outside. The Japanese can produce the best of products. Technology has been advanced to a level where people can say how was it possible for Japan to do that. Again I don't have any pretension that we can emulate Japanese experience but we can focus and learn a lot from that experience and I can see this country with its resources, with its limitations having a focused orientation could achieve tremendously. That again is not only localized. It is done with partnership, our vision on partnership, which needs to be sustainable. We need to have partners that will be with us for so many decades to come and if we can successfully implement these programs we have developed within a broader vision definitely the future of this country realistically is more than optimistic.
Thank you very much for your comments.
You are most welcome.
----[This List to be used for Eritrea Related News Only]----