Britain resumes assistance to Ethiopia in World Bank initiative

Britain on Friday joined the World Bank in announcing a new aid package, saying Britain was to resume its aid to Ethiopia.

"The poor should not be made to suffer from the political problems," said Paul Ackroyd, head of Britain's Department of International Development (DFID) in Ethiopia, at a press conference.

The World Bank on Friday announced a new aid of 446.8 million U. S. dollars to Ethiopia, and Britain will provide about 175 million dollars over the next two years. The Netherlands will also be contributing, and other donors, including the European Commission, Canada, Ireland, Sweden and the African Development Bank are currently considering contributions.

In January, Britain cut direct budget support to the Ethiopian government over human rights concerns following controversial parliamentary elections in May 2005. The opposition parties accused Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's EPRDF party of massive electoral fraud.

Ethiopia is sub-Saharan Africa's second most populous country and is ranked seventh poorest in the world. Foreign aid contributes to about one thirds of Ethiopia's annual budget, averaging more than 1 billion dollars a year to the Horn of Africa country.

Source: Xinhua