French Ambassador Promises to Support Protection of Ethiopia’s Heritages

Addis Ababa, France will continue strengthening its overall support for the protection of Ethiopian heritage, Ambassador Remi Marechaux said.

A delegation led by the ambassador visited the stele stones archaeological site, which is part of the UNESCO-inscribed Gedeo Cultural Landscape.

On the occasion, the ambassador said France and Ethiopia enjoy over a centennial relations.

The French government has been supporting Ethiopia’s preservation and protection of UNESCO-inscribed heritages, including the Rock-Hewn Churches of Labella, he pointed out.

Noting that the country owns many tourist attraction sites, Ambassador Marechaux pointed out that the Gedeo Cultural Landscape is an example.

The ambassador stressed the need for developing tourist attraction sites for economic growth, and added that France will continue strengthening its overall support for the protection of Ethiopian heritages.

“France is a leading tourism destination, not because of natural and coastal attractions but due to heritage protection. Our relationship with Ethiopia is long standing and we will strengthen our relationship by devising various projects in the future, especially in the field of heritage protection. This is the beginning of our involvement in the cultural landscape.”

Ethiopian Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) Director-General, Abebaw Ayalew said it is necessary to strengthen the work of protecting tourist attractions.

Identification of the level of preservation of heritages through research is underway in coordination with the “French-Abaya Mission Project”, he added.

The cultural landscape of Gedeo, which embraces tangible and intangible attractions, is different from other attractions in Africa.

According to the director-general, the implementation of research outcomes is underway besides strengthening cultural systems to preserve and protect the heritage.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency