Ethiopian Ambassador to Pakistan, Jemal Beker Abdula, has called on the business community of Islamabad to join a delegation of businessmen flying into Ethiopia early next year to explore business opportunities there. He said that the business delegation will fly to Ethiopia on the maiden flight of Ethiopian airlines that will start direct flight operations from Karachi early next year. He said that Ethiopian markets were full of opportunities for businessmen to exploit in the sectors of agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, mining, textile, health and tourism.

Jemal Bekar said that his government has opened the country to the financial sector with the establishment of banks and an Ethiopian stock exchange, adding that Ethiopia was fast becoming the manufacturing hub of Africa with the lowest green energy costs. He added that Ethiopia was already exporting clean energy to Kenya, Sudan, and Djibouti, with efforts underway to include more countries in its energy export market.

He said that the completion of the Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam will add 6,500 MW of energy to its national grid, further helping the efforts of regional integration through energy, trade and communication networks. He continued, “we have developed manufacturing hubs across the country for textile, pharmaceutical, laser and laser products. We need to cash in on the opportunity to increase bilateral trade from the current volume of USD 78 million to USD 300 million by the end of 2023.”

The Ambassador expressed his deepest gratitude towards Pakistan for the latter’s support to Ethiopia in the United Nations and various other international fora. He said that both Pakistan and Ethiopia enjoyed opportune geostrategic locations and it was important that they fully utilized their potential. He said Pakistan can export rice, pharmaceutical products, medical equipment, sports items and construction material to Ethiopia whereas in return Ethiopia can export coffee, tea, pulses, oilseeds and vegetables to Pakistan.

In this way, Pakistan can meet its growing demand for edible oil. He also highlighted the similarities between the two countries and raised the common demand put forward by the governments of respective countries at the recent COP-27 in Egypt for the establishment of a climate fund. Speaking about the reforms of his government, he said that in 2018 comprehensive overhaul of the economic system was undertaken by his government. This has helped the country to grow at double-digit growth rates since then. He added that his government has taken steps to increase FDI in the country, and to improve trade and business services at micro, macro and structural levels.

These steps, he said, have started to pay off in five major sectors of the economy, namely agriculture, manufacturing, mining, tourism and ICT. He continued, “our economy is hugely dependent on agriculture which accounted for 80% of its total exports and 45% of the GDP. We are continuously introducing modern methods and techniques to make agriculture sector more productive and sustainable.” “We will facilitate investors through the launch of a one-window operation. It will solve all their problems relating to exports and imports under one roof. We invite manufacturing investors to come to our country and set up their manufacturing plants there.

They can thereafter export their products to any other destination,” the Ambassador said. He said Ethiopia had access to African Continental Free Trade Areas from where everything was shipped to every other part of Africa, adding “my country is a gateway to Africa and Pakistani investors can do good business by investing there. Ethiopia is the land of Origin, the Lucy, the fossil that is believed to be the first human and the land of coffee. It is the land of Hazrat Bilal, and King Najashi. So, visiting the land of origin is like going back to your ancestral land.” Talking about ICT, the Ambassador said that Ethiopia was making major strides in laying the infrastructure essential for modern technologies. He said, “we are evolving an innovation ecosystem to make the country a conducive technology center.

We are also working on mining precious metals, stones, natural gas and oil. We are collaborating with international firms to bring business into the country in these sectors.” He assured Pakistani investors of protection to be provided by the Ethiopian government from fraud, delays, disputes and counterfeit projects, adding that his country was a member of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. He concluded by saying that his government was taking multiple steps to facilitate foreign investments in Ethiopia, adding that his Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, personally chairs the meeting of the Board of Investment every two months to address the challenges and problems faced by the investors in the country.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk