Director General of Development Cooperation for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs His Excellency Stefano Gatti, visits Ethiopian Coffee Training Center in Addis Abeba which is the first in its kind in East Africa.
The ceremony was attended by H.E Agostino Palese, Ambasador of the Italian embassy, her excellency Miss Aurelia Patrizia Calabrò, Director & UNIDO Representative in Ethiopia, H.E Marco Rusconi, Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation,H.E D.r melese mekonin, state minister of Ministry of Agriculture, and higher officials from different Italian organizations, including the Director General of Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority H.E D.r Adugna Debella.
During his visit, the Director General of Development Cooperation for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed his happiness to be able to see this modern coffee training center, which was built here in the compound of Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority with the support of the Italian government and UNIDO. He stated that the center will contribute to addressing the lack of manpower in the sector and will further strengthen the cooperation between the Italian government and Ethiopia.
He pointed out that his country, which has been supporting such development projects, will continue to strengthen its participation in climate change and other projects that bring sustainable benefits. He explained that the implementation of such effective projects can be the basis for other grants.
On his part, Dr. Melese said that, the presence of the Deligation which is led by Director General of Development Cooperation for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to visit this coffee Training Center shows how much attention is paid to the sector. He also explained that coffee earns a lot of foreign currency for Ethiopia and supports millions of farmers. According to him the support of the Italian government and UNIDO is admirable and should be strengthened in the future.
At his concluding remark H.E D.r Adugna said that ‘the CTC is exemplary to the whole Africa. People from different African countries took trainings in the center. Still there are demands from different countries. We are working to scale up the center in the Continental level.’ He also appreciates the unlimited support of the Italian Government and UNIDO. Finally, all the delegates are visited CTC and all activities in the Center.
