ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA. A delegation from the Ethiopian Ministry of Urban Development & Construction visited IWR on July 17, 2013, to discuss mutual interests between USACE IWR and the Ministry. The delegation was led by His Excellency Mr. Hailemeskel Tefera Hailemarkos, Minister of State, Urban Development & Construction Ministry. It included two senior officials from the Ethiopian Water Works Design and Supervision Enterprise (WWDSE): Dr. Negede Abate Kassa, Deputy Chief Executive Officer WWDSE and Dr. Tesfaye Kebede Feyissa, Director at the WWDSE. Also attending was Mr. Solomon Mekonnen, Senior Economic Officer at the Embassy of Ethiopia located in Washington, DC.
The meeting began with an overview by Dr. Kassa of water and energy development projects in progress and under development within Ethiopia. The energy projects presented were an impressive combination of new hydropower facilities and wind power production.
IWR team members provided information to the delegation about current and past international engagements by IWR and ICIWaRM, an overview of products produced by the Hydrologic Engineer Center, and a discussion of ongoing efforts by the Conflict Resolution and Public Participation Center of Expertise.
The meeting was a fruitful exchange of similar interests between USACE and the Ministry concerning Ethiopia's near-term water resources project development.