Addis Ababa, November 2, 2026 (FMC) — Ethiopia is placing human capital development and the realization of gender equality at the centre of its long-term development agenda, Speaker of the House of Peoples’ Representatives Ahmed Shide said.
He made the remarks at an African-Asian parliamentary consultative forum held in Addis Ababa, focusing on population and development, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender equality policies.
Addressing the forum, Ahmed said Ethiopia was mobilizing its national capacities, people, institutions and resources towards shared national goals through the Medemer strategy, which extends to 2050.
He noted that the country was advancing development solutions rooted in indigenous thinking while implementing a modern governance system guided by ideas, strategy and accountability.
The Medemer Government, he said, was working to translate this long-term vision into tangible outcomes by developing innovative solutions, accelerating service delivery and development, expanding and replicating successful initiatives, and ensuring quality across all development sectors.
These principles are being applied across education, healthcare, infrastructure development and other social and economic sectors, he added.
Ahmed further said Ethiopia was building strong political, economic and institutional capacities under the principle of self-reliance to withstand external pressures and turn emerging challenges into strategic opportunities for national development.
Emphasizing the importance of investing in people, the Speaker said a country’s true foundation of development and strength rests not only on its physical infrastructure and institutions but also on the health, education, skills and human dignity of its people.
He stressed that population and development, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender equality should not be treated as secondary concerns, but as central pillars of national capacity and the country’s long-term development strategy.