The Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage (ARCCH) is preparing a document to send to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to register the Epiphany (Timket) celebration as an intangible cultural heritage. Timket has been celebrated in Ethiopia for over 1,500 years.
The document which encompasses videos and photos of Epiphany celebrations in addition to a public acceptance signing is expected to be sent to the UNESCO office.
If UNESCO approves Ethiopia’s request, the major Timket celebrations which are observed widely in Gonder, Lalibela, Axum and Addis Ababa will be registered as intangible cultural heritage.
The eve of the celebration which is called Ketera, the major celebration, Timket, and Kana Ze Gelila which is celebrated after the day of Timket are incorporated into the document.
UNESCO’s Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage defines the intangible cultural heritage as the practices, representations, expressions, as well as the knowledge and skills (including instruments, objects, artifacts, cultural spaces), that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.
According to Gezahegn Girma, Intangible Heritages researcher at ARCCH, the Timeket celebration meets the criteria of UNESCO and will increase tourism if it is registered.
“Before we send the documents to UNESCO we will register it locally as an intangible heritage and we hope that if the celebration is registered will become well known.
The festival of Timket falls on January19 every year. It is observed in commemoration of Jesus Christ’s baptism in River Jordan. The celebration of Timket starts on the eve of the main festival. The eve is known as ’Ketera’ and taken from the Amharic word ‘ketere’ meaning to make a dam; it is usual to make a dam in some places where there is no enough river water for the celebration of Timket.
In the afternoon of Ketera the tabots (Arks) from each of the churches are taken to a significant water body. Accompanied by a great ceremony, each tabot is carried overhead by a high priest. It is taken to spend the night there, an activity that helps in performing the Timket ceremony, usually done early in the morning the time Jesus Christ was baptized. The ceremony extends throughout the night and the next day early in the morning the Timket celebration start. The ceremony begins with the pre-sun rise rituals which include the Kidane (Morning Prayer) and the KIdasie (the divine clergy). These rituals are followed by the blessing and sprinkling of the blessed water on the assembled congregation in commemoration of Christ’s baptism.
So far UNESCO has registered Fiche Chenbelala, Meskel and Gada as intangible cultural heritages.

A German business delegation that consisted of over 10 companies from the state of Baden Wurttemberg visited Ethiopia and Kenya this week. The delegation included companies that functioned in sectors such as consulting, manufacturing of electronics, chemicals, architectural and interior design and construction companies, among others.
“Ethiopia and Germany have more than a century long relationship. They are strong partners in peace and security, migration, climate change as well as sustainable development. Despite the already strong relationship, Ethiopia believes more can be done in the area of business to business relations,” stated State Minister of Foreign Affairs Aklilu Hailemichael during the opening session of the meeting.
The State Minister further said that the delegation’s visit would be one of the biggest steps towards bringing the business communities in the two countries together to form new partnerships.
Ethiopia has been working intensively in expanding the infrastructure to promote regional economic integration. The role of infrastructure such as railway, telecom, electricity that have connected us with our neighbors not only has made the relationship between countries stronger, but also boosted trade and investment and economic ties and created better understanding about the business environment.
He assured the delegation that Ethiopia continues to provide a conducive environment for investment. He underlined that Ethiopia offers a strong internal market with having the second largest population on the continent.
“This advantage is even more attractive with the several national projects that are in place. The country is attractive due to its growing manufacturing sector that is supported by a reliable power sector,” he also said.
Schmidt-Eisenlohr, CEO of Baden-Wurttemberg International, an institution that supports state enterprises Kai said that the delegation was looking forward to possible areas where the two business communities could work together on. “We support in all ways possible when our members want to go abroad and look at new opportunities and find new partners to unlock new markets,” he stated.

A South Korean business delegation held an official visit to Addis Ababa to explore trade and investment opportunities. The delegation that consisted of 21 individuals was led by the INNOBIZ Association in South Korea.
During the visit, delegations met with several government representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as Ministry of Transport, among others.
During the opening of the Ethio-South Korea Business Forum that was held at Capital Hotel on Monday, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Aklilu Hailemichael stated that bilateral relations between Ethiopia and South Korea cemented by blood should be improved with economic partnerships for the mutual gain of both countries.
He further stated that Ethiopia will keep working hard to improve the business environment in the country to attract more investors.
“We are constantly improving the ‘doing business’ environment in Ethiopia we look forward to seeing more companies from South Korea invest in agro-processing, textile, apparel, renewable energy, information communication technology, biotech, pharmaceuticals and other sectors,” he said.
The delegation also met with officials from the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association (ECCSA) during the business forum. The Chamber’s President Melaku Ezezew stated that South Korean trade and investment involvement in Ethiopia has been increasing quickly and consistently over the last decades.
It was further stated that the total trade turnover between the two countries has reached over 1.8 billion USD and according to a 2007-2016 data, 39 South Korean companies are under operation, implementation and pre-implementation stages of investment with over 39 million USD in capital.
ECCSA’s president also stated that the business community in Ethiopia is interested in building a joint venture to have technology transfer, capacity building as well as attract more direct investment to the country.
The Chamber and the South Korean Business Company Busan-Ulsan Innobiz Association signed a memorandum of understanding to scale up small and medium enterprises in Ethiopia through the creation of a joint venture.
The business delegation also showed an interest in investing in industrial parks. Among the companies present, Young-HWA one of the largest manufacturing companies in Korea announced of its plan to establish an industrial park in Adama on 200 hectares of land, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The industrial park is expected to create from 20,000 to 30,000 jobs.

The first phase of Chinese Pharmaceutical Health Care Group factory which consumed USD 20 million and was constructed in Hageremariam, Amhara region has been completed and is now producing medicine.
The products are in four forms, tablets, capsules, injections and syrups. They are now being sold locally and to other East African countries. So far the factory which lies on seven hectares has created job opportunities for 300 Ethiopians and will triple production capacity and labor when the second and the third phase of the factory is completed. The cost of that expansion will be USD 80 million.
The new manufacturing facility is equipped with advanced technology to produce high-quality pharmaceutical products.
The facility also has a pharmaceutical packaging line equipped with labeling, carton making, shrink wrapping, packing, and blistering machines.
LU Xian, manager of the factory told Capital that the new facility strictly adheres to the WHO guidelines.
“We take great pride in formally opening our factory in Ethiopia. This business initiative forms part of Humanwell’s stated global expansion strategy into emerging and established markets, and we look forward to working closely with the Ethiopian government and local regulatory bodies in providing quality products to meet the healthcare needs of the Ethiopian people.’’
“In an effort to relieve the country’s reliance on imported pharmaceutical products the new factory will play a role in reducing imports from abroad, while meeting international standards and providing the Ethiopian people with affordable medicine.” He added the facility will offer 30 different types of medicine, ranging from simple oral products such as tablets, capsules, and powders before expanding to more sophisticated medication capable of treating diseases like hypertension, diabetes and heart disease.
Ethiopia relies heavily on India, Europe and China, for pharmaceutical products.
Humanwell was found in 1993 by a group of passionate college graduates and now since has transformed into a fully integrated healthcare solution provider. Headquartered at the center of China, Humanwell has been an active presence in over ten countries and districts to date. It has operations in China, West Africa (Mali), American markets and has registered 400 products through the national (Chinese) regulatory authority. Since its establishment, Humanwell has been striving to bring safe and effective medicines to the world through the quality of its products and the integrity of its people.