Eritrea urges east Africa to wean itself off aid
NAIROBI (AFP) — Eritrea's national development minister urged other east African nations Tuesday to reduce their dependence on foreign aid by pursuing policies of self-reliance.
The minister, Woldai Futur, was addressing a regional conference on the role of trade unions in east Africa's economic integration, according to a statement on his ministry's website.
Eritrea is less reliant on foreign development aid than many countries in the region and some major agencies, such as USAID, are banned from operating in the country of 3.8 million in the Horn of Africa.
Futur called on Eritrea's neighbours "to formulate development strategies on the basis of the principle of self-reliance so as to overcome the existing economic problems in a short period of time."
"Although pursuing such development strategies would require expenses during a transitional period, it nonetheless would pave the way for a bright future to member states, in particular, and the region, in general," he said.
The minister said political and economic instability, poor distribution of technology, epidemics and bad management were the bottlenecks limiting regional growth, according to the website.
