First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Vesna Pusić met today on the fringes of the Financing for Development conference in Addis Ababa with Ethiopian State Minister of Culture and Tourism Seid Damtew, who talked about Ethiopia’s culture and cultural heritage, part of which is protected by UNESCO. Damtew was hopeful that a memorandum of understanding would be signed with Croatia and other European countries, given Ethiopia’s growing tourist industry, since cultural heritage is an important part of the tourist offer.
Pusić agreed that culture was very important for the development of a country and its society. In terms of development cooperation, she added, Croatia was interested in the project of reconstructing frescos in Lalibela’s churches.
“Croatia is successfully restoring its cultural and monumental heritage, so Croatian and Ethiopian restorers could jointly work on the cultural goods in Lalibela,” Pusić said.
“We could benefit from your experiences in tourism,” said Damtew, adding that Ethiopia had to learn how to set up tourist offer, work with tourists and the like.
Pusić proposed cooperation in that area as well, where Croatian tourism workers could train their Ethiopian colleagues.