Mittwoch, 20. März 2013

Speech of The Day (176): Foundation Stone of the Indo-Ethiopian Textile Factory at Basaka





On Saturday, March 30, 1958, His Imperial
Majesty Haile Selassie I laid the foundation
stone of the Indo-Ethiopian Textile Factory
at Basaka. Below is the Emperor's statement
made on this occasion:


"The satisfaction of man's basic needs, food, shelter
and clothing, have in all times and in all nations been
considered as of the highest priority. In the matter
of food, the wealth that Almighty God, in His abundant
mercy, has bestowed upon Our country is not only adequate
to fill the requirements of Our own people, but
can also enable her to help meet the needs of neighbouring
countries. In the programme laid out by Us for
the development and progress of Our country, We have
given priority to the spreading of education and improving
the health of Our people and to the fulfilment of
basic human needs which We have just described.
Until recently, Our people strove to meet their clothing
needs by spinning at home and weaving on their
ancient hand-looms. But with the increased demands
introduced by modern civilisation, this situation has
changed rapidly, and today We find textiles heading the
list of Ethiopia's imports.
Realizing that the clothing requirements of Our
people could be met only through the erection of an
adequate number of properly organized textile mills,
and the furtherance of Our policy of industrial expansion
and development, We have already caused three cotton
mills to be established in Ethiopia, one each in Addis
Ababa, Dire Dawa and Asmara. However, these three
factories combined are not yet capable of meeting even
a fourth or the total needs of Our people, and in order
to produce at home an ever increasing percentage of
Our clothing requirements, We have caused a fourth
textile mill to be established, the corner stone of which
We take great pleasure in laying today.
We would like to avail ourselves of this opportunity
to state once again that We would welcome to Ethiopia
companies like Messrs. Birla Brothers who seek to
establish industries in Ethiopia.
In the address which We broadcast to Our people
on Our return from Our state Visit to India which We
undertook in 1956, on the friendly invitation of the
Indian Government, We stated that 'the social and
economic problems that face India and Ethiopia are
very much alike". And since the nations of the world
are bound together in inter-dependence, We trust that
both Ethiopia and India will render mutual assistance
in facing the problems of each other.
We wish to extend Our thanks to Messrs. Birla
Brothers, who took the initiative in establishing this
factory as a joint Ethiopian-Indian venture. We trust
that this factory will achieve success and render, many
years of useful service to Our people."







Speeches delivered by His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie Ist Emperor of Ethiopia on various occasions - page 45 -








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