Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) said Ethiopia can transform citizens' lives by leveraging its heritage and natural resources for tourism development.
The Prime Minister, during a session in Addis Ababa titled "the new economic engine," included tourism as one of the five main economic pillars. He stressed that heritage should be viewed as a shared blessing rather than a source of debt.
He highlighted sites including the Sof Omar Cave, the story of Lucy, the Erta Ale volcano and the Arba Minch lakes. These resources represent world heritage, he said.
Infrastructure expansion, road construction and investment attraction are essential, he noted. Tourism moves 12.6 trillion dollars globally each year and creates jobs for 370 million people, he added.