Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday inaugurated the first phase of the Ogaden Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project in Calub, Somali Region, marking a major milestone in the country's push to unlock its energy potential.
The facility, with an annual production capacity exceeding 100 million liters, is set to play a pivotal role in Ethiopia's strategy to leverage its vast natural gas reserves for economic development.
In an interview with China Media Group (CMG) on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony, Ahmed hailed the project as a symbol of deepening cooperation between Ethiopia and China.
"It's clear that we do have a very strong relationship with the government of China. Our diplomatic relationship, also economic relationship, is one of the exemplary ones on this continent. And today is a great day for Ethiopia, because it shows the friendship between Ethiopia and China. The investment, which is taking place in the Ogaden area today, will transform the energy sector in Ethiopia. It will also enhance our development. There is a huge amount of advantages that we're going to harness from this investment," said the prime minister.
The project is a joint venture between Ethiopia's Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and GCL Group, a leading Chinese private energy company.
"After this project is operational, it will greatly benefit Ethiopia's entire industry, agriculture, transportation, and all other sectors. Its driving effect on the national economy is very significant," said Zhu Gongshan, chairman of GCL Group.
Ethiopia inaugurates first phase of Ogaden LNG project co-developed with China
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney's official visit to China signals a policy shift towards building a more pragmatic relationship between the two countries, according to a Canadian researcher.
Carney arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin an official visit to China through Saturday, which marks the first trip by a Canadian Prime Minister to the country in eight years.
Robert Hanlon, director and principal investigator of Canada and the Asia Pacific Policy Project (CAPPP) at Thompson Rivers University in British Columbia, told the China Global Television Network (CGTN) that Carney's visit indicates Canada is recalibrating its strategic perception of China, which could cement the foundation for the country's economic diversification efforts and boost the development of bilateral cooperation.
"I think it's a clear message that he has moved Canada's strategy to a much more pragmatic, interest-based, -focused relationship with our trading partners, moving away from values-based narratives that we might have heard on previous governments. Canada has spoken about moving from what the Prime Minister's Office is calling "from reliance to resilience", and that means diversifying our economies and our trade everywhere in the world. And so China being our second largest trading partner, it makes perfect sense for our PM to head to Beijing," he said.
The scholar also noted the huge cooperation potential between the two sides in economic and trade fields, citing Canada's efforts to step up shipments of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the planned construction of an oil pipeline in Alberta which aims to increase export access to Asian markets. "Canada and China both share tremendous economic opportunities together and so finding ways to enhance our exports. Canada specifically looking to build out its LNG and oil, kind of export market. We know Canada is a major producer of critical minerals and China is a buyer. And so there's a lot of synergy between that kind of those kind of markets," he said.
Canadian PM's visit to China paves way for more pragmatic trade ties: scholar
