Mr. President,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure and honor for me to be amongst you today to adress this august assembly on behalf of my delegation. I would also like to congratulate you and the other members of the bureau for your election. We hope that under your able stewardship we can come to a successful conclusion by adopting a consensus document, which will pave the way for the development of a society for all ages.

My delegation extends its gratitude to the Government and people of Spain for hosting this important assembly and for their warm welcome and hospitality.

Mr. Pressident,

When the First World Assembly on Ageing took place twenty years ago, the issue of ageing was perceived a phenomenon of the developed world only because the majority of older people lived in the developed countries. Today, due to the dramatic demographic transformation ; the developing countries have become homes to the majority of the world's older persons. It is expected that in less than three decades, three quarters of the world's population will live in the developing countries. This sudden demographic change together with the already existing absolute poverty and maeagre resouces in these countries, pole great challenge to their institutional and capacity in addressing the issu. It is in light of these compelling factors that we have gathered here in Madrid from all over the world. The evolving process of ageing makes this assembly more important and timely.

Mr. President,

My delegation fully alligns itself with the statement made by the distinguished representative of Venezuela on behalf of the Group of 77 and China, therefore in my statement I would like to share with you my country's experience in dealing with the issue of ageing.

According to the Nationa Population and Housing Census conducted in the country in 1994, out of the 60.5 million of the country's population, older persons constituted about 3.2 million (5.2%). The majority of the older persons live in the rural areas of the country and their needs are catered for by a traditional extended family system which is a two or three generation unit held together by kinship ties. However, due to the rapid growth of cities and the emergence of complexities associated with social, economic and cultural changes, the family system is taking a new dimension. Thus, families in urban areas could not afford to provide adequate support for the elderly leaving a great number of older in a precarios situation. Older persons are being abused, neglected and abandoned to fend for themselves.

The issues and needs of older persons in Ethiopia are enormous and compounded by poverty and underdevelopment. Therefore, measures taken to address the issue should focus on tackling the socio-economic problems of the country and should proceed at various levels with designing and implementing of poverty alleviating growth strategy.

Mr. President,

Older persons in Ethiopia are regarded as indespensable resources in offering their life-long accumulated knowledge and experiences to the younger generation. They are the symbol of national identity, sources of history, culture and tradition; therefore they should be provided with appropriate services and support and be allowed to age with security and dignity.

Since May 1991, a firm foundation for peace and democracy began to take root in the country for the first time in three decades. Ever since, my Government have been committed to a radical reform programme and and to devote resources and enery to development activities with the oblective of achieving rapid economic growth and reduction of poverty. This favourable siituation had helped the issues of older persons to be accorded necessary attention at the national level. Measures have been taken to rehabilitate the shattered socio-economic structures and to lay down foundations for sustainable development resultin in the formulation and implementation of a comprehensive economic and social policies for the improvement of the living standard of the people including of older persons.

After the adption of the Vienna Plan of Action on Ageing, many efforts have been made both at the internation and national level. In this respect, Ethiopia took a strong position to deal effectively with the ageing of the population.

- The National Association of Older persons was legally established to coordinate activities of various associations of older persons,
- Ethiopia is closely working with the UN Programme on Ageing, Help Age International, UNFPA,
- The Internations Year of Older Persons is celebrated colourfully,
- Public awareness programme were conducted to help change the negative attitude of the society towards older persons and to acknowledge the potential and contribution of older persons in development.

While the Government is the major responsible body to provide services to its older persons, a number of efforts are also being exerted through partnership with NGOs, religious institutions, local organizations and individuals to address the needs of older persons.

Mr. President,

It is my delegation's conviction that the outcome of this Assembly will guide us to the right path to address the issue of ageing in a more comprehensive manner. In a rapid ageing world, the implementation of the International Plan of Action on Ageing requires strong international cooperation more than ever. The particular situation of older persons in the developing countries, specially in Africa must be given particular attention. African leaders have shown their commitments to address the needs of their older persons by adopting a Policy Framework and Plan of Action on Ageing as an input to the 2nd World Assembly on Ageing. In this connection, efforts to implement this Plan of Action at the regional level should be also supported at the international level.

In conclusion, Mr. President, I would like to express my Government's commitment to make all possible efforts to implement the decisions of this Assembly.

I thank you.