Month: May 2018

Ethiopia to acquire portion of Djibouti port

Djibouti has agreed to Ethiopia’s proposal to acquire a share of its port, a deal secured by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on his first foreign visit as Head of State over the weekend.

Mr Abiy held talks with the host President Ismail Omar Guelleh and also addressed the Djibouti parliament.

Ethiopian government spokesman, Ahmed Shide, said the percentage apportioned was yet to be determined by experts after assessing the value and profit margins of the port.

Formal agreements will be signed within two months, and experts from both countries have been tasked to do the paperwork, according to Mr Ahmed.

Ethiopia also agreed to apportion to Djibouti shares in its major firms of their choice, including Ethiopian Airlines. Djibouti also showed an interest in agricultural activities in Ethiopia.

The tiny Horn country has previously been allowed to pump 200 metric cubes of drinking water daily from Ethiopia’s Somali region.

More than 95 percent of Ethiopia’s import and export trade passes through Djibouti’s Port.

Apart from Djibouti, Ethiopia also uses Port Sudan and Port Berbera for its import and export activities.

Ethiopia and Djibouti are connected by a railway line, and a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) pipeline project was underway to export gas from the Somali region.

PM Abiy Ahmed visited the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

Ethiopia PM Abiy Ahmed visited the Grand Ethiopia Rennaissance Dam (GERD) site yesterday, accompanied by his deputy Demeke Mekonnen and other top government officials.

They were given an update on work at the facility being built in the Benishangul Gumuz regional state. They were conducted around by manager of the project Engineer Simegne Bekele.

Later, Prime Minister Abiy discussed with representatives of residents of the Benishangul Gumuz regional state in the capital city of Asossa.

He responded to various questions raised by the representatives.

In his introductory remark, the Prime Minister said that the people of Benishangul-Gumuz regional state had done a lot jobs for the country, including safeguarding its sovereignty.

During the discussion, the participants asked the government to establish an industrial park in the regional state.

Responding to the question, the Premier said that “it is not feasible to establish a park here since the area is not proximate to rail and air transport services.”

However, it would be more important for factories taking advantage of the abundant resources in the region to be set up. The regional state is rich in mango, sesame, bamboo tree, coal, and marble resources.

As far as infrastructure is concerned, he said, the federal government will make the necessary inspection to alleviate delay in the implementation of budgeted projects, such as roads.

Israeli President Arrived in Addis Ababa for State Visit

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin arrived in Addis Ababa for the first-ever state visit by a President of Israel to Ethiopia.

President Reuven Rivlin welcomed by high-level Ethiopian officials including Ministers during his arrival at Bole International airport.

The President expected to meet with President Mulatu Teshome and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during his three-day official visit to Ethiopia

The Israeli delegation led by the President accompanied by high-level government officials and the business community.

The two countries have a strong foundation cooperating on areas of agriculture, science and technology, education security and fighting against terrorism.

Accordingly, Ethiopia exports coffee, spices, oilseeds, fruit and crops to Israel while capital inputs, pieces of machinery, plastic, metal and chemical productions are among the import items from Israel to Ethiopia.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in July 2016, became the first Israeli Premier to visit Ethiopia.

During his visit, the Prime Ministers of both countries and their delegations discussed ways to increase bilateral cooperation on a series of issues including water, agriculture, communications, tourism and education. Agreements were also signed in science, technology and tourism.

Ethiopia and Israel re-established diplomatic relations in 1992.

Ethiopia to Finalise Bahir Dar Industrial Park in Three Months

The Ethiopian government announced on 30 April that the construction of the Chinese-contracted Bahir Day Industrial Park will be completed within three months.

Amhara region officials made this disclosure while briefing members of the Ethiopian House of People’s and Representatives, the Ethiopian parliament’s lower house.

The agreement for the construction of the industrial park, located in Bahir Dar city, capital of Amhara regional state, was made between China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and the Ethiopian Industrial Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) in June 2017.

Construction of the industrial park, which is expected to create job opportunities for some 20,000 locals, is 37-percent complete.

The IPDC previously disclosed that the 75-hectare industrial park will focus on labour-intensive industries that would export value-added textile and apparel as well as food products.

Members of the lower house have also urged the regional government to conclude the industrial park within its timeframe. The park, being built with over 60 million U.S. dollars, was initially scheduled to be concluded in nine months.

Chinese companies are now major actors in the East African country’s ambition towards becoming manufacturing powerhouse in the African continent.

Built by CCECC, the Hawassa industrial park, located in Ethiopia’s southern city of Hawassa, was completed in a record time of nine months in July 2016.

The flagship industrial park has successfully attracted world-class textile and apparel companies to Ethiopia, including PVH, a company known for marketing diversified portfolio of brands including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger.