‘Renewing the promise: A New Vision for Eritrea’ Endorsement by Dr. Eduardo Velez

‘Renewing the Promise: A New Vision for Eritrea.’

Endorsement by Eduardo Velez

January 27, 2026

Within one week of meeting Semere Solomon in Asmara in the mid-1990s, it was clear that his country flowed in his blood.  After fighting for Eritrea’s liberation and working to improve its human capital, his long-term goals for the development of Eritrea were interrupted by the dictatorship that took over.  He had time to be exposed to other experiences working on development, in particular human capital development, in several countries around the world for the next 25 years or so.  Throughout this time, he looked with critical eyes at the development, or lack thereof, of his country and its people. 

Based on lessons learned from this experience, he presents in this book, in a detailed and systematic way, a road map for Eritrea’s future economic development once the dictatorship disappears.  Mr. Solomon does such a comprehensive job that I think this book should be recommended as useful reading to all those involved in the world of development.  The agenda that he proposes for the road map for Eritrea deals indeed with its particularities, but it involves many critical aspects needed to achieve development and sustainable quality of life in any developing country.  The most important are topics addressing:

(i)             aspects of governance, accountability, Rule of Law, and control of corruption;

(ii)        the importance of human development policies dealing with effective solutions to the problems the sectors face, taking into account socioeconomic equity;

(iii)          the development of institutions capable of implementing such policies in an efficient way; and

(iv)           design of a valid macroeconomic environment. 

Further, Mr. Solomon rightly always takes into account elements related to culture and historical values, consulting beneficiaries, and bringing into the picture the experience and capacity of the Diaspora.

Eduardo Velez Bustillo, PhD

Former World Bank Education Sector Manager for Latin America & the Caribbean, and for East Asia & the Pacific regions. Former Visiting Professor at Peking University, Beijing Normal University, and Fudan University in China; Brown University and the University of Connecticut; former  Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. Currently, Visiting Professor at Kobe University, Japan.