The Ethiopian government is organizing "The Great Ethiopian Home Coming Initiative" for the Ramadan Bayram, calling on Ethiopians living abroad and friends of Ethiopia to travel to the country on the occasion also known as Eid al-Fitr

The initiative, launched by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, aims to build the image of the country through promoting religious coexistence, Islamic values, history, culture and Islamic heritage in Ethiopia, the Embassy of Ethiopia in Ankara told Daily Sabah.

Within this scope, several social and economic events are planned to provide opportunities for the diaspora to participate in national development and growth activities. Furthermore, the homecoming initiative will further be a scene of a large iftar, a dinner to mark the breaking of the daily fast, as well as the planting of seedlings, trade fairs, discussion forums and visits to tourist attractions.

In order to promote participation, Ethiopian Airlines introduced a discount for flights to the country between April 25 and May 15.

A similar initiative was organized by Ethiopia last year in December that witnessed many Ethiopians returning home to celebrate Christmas and Epiphany.

The event is also an opportunity for Ethiopia to display that the country is stable and to counter the negative image generally drawn by Western media outlets.

The embassy called on Ethiopians in Turkey as well as Turkish people to participate in the event and get a taste of the country and its Islamic heritage.

With the first diplomatic contact between Turkey and Ethiopia dating back to 1896, Ankara opened its first embassy in sub-Saharan Africa in Addis Ababa in 1926.

Mutual high-level visits, the existence of trade relations and Turkish companies in Ethiopia, the inauguration of Turkish Airlines’ direct flights to Addis Ababa as of April 2006 and the establishment of the first Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) office in Addis Ababa in 2005, have contributed significantly to the growing ties.