By: Abdul-Aziz Oudah, Yemen Observer
The commercial department of the Yemeni embassy in Ethiopia has failed in preparing a Yemeni commercial exhibition in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, sources said.
According to these sources, mismanagement of preparations surrounding the commercial exhibition caused the embarrassment of the Yemeni commercial cultural delegation. The delegation consisted of the Minister of Industry and Trade, the Minister of Expatriate Affairs, deputies of the Ministry of Culture and the Secretariat-General, in addition to a large number of businessmen and educated people. More than $200,000 was spent on the effort.
The Yemeni componenet of the exhibition was prepared by the commercial attaché in Addis Ababa, Abdul-Rahman al-Samt, in cooperation with a private company.
The delegation’s program was meant to include the opening of the exhibition in the Ethiopian capital to strengthen the commercial exchange between businessmen from the two countries. The Yemeni cultural, commercial and industrial delegation found itself in a bad situation when it arrived at the International Addis Ababa airport where there were no Ethiopian officials to receive them, the sources said. Mohammed al-Gharbi Amran, deputy of the Secretariat-General, has called for an investigation of the scandal.
The same sources said that the delegation contained a number of businessmen, craftsmen and artists who came after previous cooperation with the Yemeni commercial attaché in Addis Ababa to activate a Yemeni cultural week and establish a commercial and handicrafts exhibition. However, the cultural week was already finished, while the commercial exhibition proved to be an elusive one.
“The Yemeni delegation discovered when they arrived that the activities were false ones since the Ethiopian authorities had no idea about them,” sources said. The Yemeni ambassador denied having any relation to this scandal. However, sources confirmed that all preparations which the commercial attaché undertook occurred at the Yemeni embassy.
“The picture of Yemen has been defaced because of what happened. Participants in the commercial and handicrafts exhibition have paid their money which amounted to $200,000, in addition to travelling expenses. However, what really shocked them is that participants came to see that elusive exhibition,” said Amran.
Goods meant for this exhibition are being retained in Ethiopian customs because they included other products which were not going to be displayed at the exhibition. According to Ethiopian law, taking these products out of customs required more time than what was allowed for the exhibition.
The company is not able to return these goods to Yemen because of the cost, and it does not want these products to enter Ethiopia because the exhibition is already finished, according to a source from the company.
The establishment of the Yemeni-Ethiopian businessmen’s council was announced during this visit in the presence of the Minister of Industry and Trade, Dr. Yahya al-Mutawakel, the Minister of Expatriate Affairs, Dr. Saleh Sumai and representatives from Ethiopian commercial affairs.
The base of the Yemeni Culture Center project, which will be built on 22,000 cubic meters, has been laid last week in the capital of Ethiopia. It is the first Arabic cultural center in Ethiopia.
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