Ethiopia and İzmir are to seek cooperation in agriculture
Ethiopia and İzmir are to seek cooperation opportunities in agriculture and animal husbandry
Having stated that Ethiopia and İzmir had opportunities to further the cooperation in agriculture and animal husbandry, Mrs. Işınsu Kestelli, chairperson of the Board of Directors of İzmir Commodity Exchange (ICE), hosted a delegation from Ethiopia and invited the related institutions of the country to be a member of the virtual trading portal of the ICE called ecommoditybazaar.com.
A delegation from Ethiopia, Africa's second largest country, visited İzmir Commodity Exchange to talk about cooperation opportunities that could be sought between the two countries. The delegation led by His Excellency Mr. Ayalew Gobeze Workneh, Ethiopia's Ambassador to Türkiye, comprised of Mr. Tesfakiros Hailu Gebremariam, minister counsellor in charge of business and economic diplomacy affairs, Mr. Mebrat Mekonnen Assres, minister counsellor in charge of political and public diplomacy affairs, Mr. Wondwosen Gelan Abdu, 1st secretary consular in charge of diaspora affairs, Mr. İlhami Yıldırım, honorary consul of Ethiopia in İzmir, and several other honorary consuls of various cities in Türkiye.
Having spoken in the meeting where Mr. Ercan Korkmaz, deputy chairperson of the Board of the ICE, Mr. Erçin Güdücü, Secretary General of the ICE, and Dilara Sürgü, counsellor to the chairperson of the ICE, were also present, Mrs. Kestelli stated that Türkiye was one of the largest investor countries in Ethiopia. Kestelli emphasized that Turkish investment in Ethiopia was around 2.5 billion dollars and Turkish companies in the country employed over 30 thousand people, and she continued as follows:
"However, we can say that we still have not reached the desired potential in our bilateral trade relations. Turkish investors need to carry these relations even further, because unlike many other countries, Ethiopia's stable and growing economy offers a suitable environment for foreign investors. We see that you attach importance to cooperation to be established in textile, energy, infrastructure, health and agriculture sectors, and that you have launched a production and industry campaign targeting 2025. With the corporate reforms carried out, new regulations laid down and the continuously improving infrastructure, the commercial activities in Ethiopia have also begun to become easier and cheaper. The opportunities presented within the given conditions need not to be ignored. Because Africa will be the new growth area of the world in the future and Ethiopia, the shining star of Africa, will be one of the prominent countries in this development and growth process. For this reason, we must increase our trade relations with the common steps we are to take. We have the opportunity to advance our cooperation in both agriculture and animal husbandry sectors in which both İzmir and Ethiopia are ambitious. By the way, I would like to invite the relevant institutions of Ethiopia to become a member of our most recent project, the online trading platform called ecommoditybazaar.com.
"The credits provided by Eximbank increase the contribution"
Stating that there had been solid relations going back to many years between Ethiopia and Türkiye, Mr. Ayalew Gobeze Workneh, Ethiopia's ambassador to Türkiye, said, "This relationship has been going on since the rule of Sultan Abdul Hamid. The first Turkish consulate was opened in the Harari region of our country in 1912. Türkiye's Embassy in our capital, Addis Ababa, has existed since 1926." Indicating that Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had visited their country three times and the leaders of the two countries continued their mutual visits to improve trade and investment relations, Mr. Workneh went on as follows:
"Activities of statesmen and business people have contributed to our development. The investment worth of 2.5 billion dollars was made by more than 140 business people. In addition to industry and commerce, 389 km long roads have been built. Eximbank provided $300 million in loans to finance the Awash-Weldia Railway Project. This increases your contribution. Türkiye's reputation in Ethiopia is very high. You have great experiences and produce quality products. We have a lot to learn from you."
Following the presentation of Mr. Tesfakiros Hailu Gebremariam, minister counsellor in charge of business and economic diplomacy affairs, about the incentives granted to the investors in Ethiopia, plaques were presented to Mr. Ambassador Ayalew Gobeze Workneh and Mr. İlhami Yıldırım, honorary consul of Ethiopia in İzmir, in memory of the day.
11.05.2017
