KOICA plans to enhance economic cooperation with Ethiopia: President

Addis Ababa, November 17, 2023 (FBC) – Ms. Semereta Sewasew, the State Minister of Finance, welcomed the President of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), Mr. Kang, Won Sam, to discuss the strengthening of cooperation between Ethiopia and KOICA.

During the meeting, both parties discussed KOICA’s future cooperation areas in Ethiopia, which include increasing manufacturing capabilities, strengthening healthcare services, enhancing climate change response, promoting resilience and social integration with a gender-sensitive approach, and developing watersheds and human sectors.

Addis Ababa, November 15, 2023 (FBC) – The Ministry of Finance of Ethiopia, in collaboration with the World Bank, held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Eastern and Southern Africa WaSH Leadership Summit to discuss strategies to accelerate Ethiopia’s Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WaSH) agenda.

Led by Victoria Kwakwa, Vice President for World Bank Eastern and Southern Africa, and Mr. Ahmed Shide, Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance, the discussions provided an opportunity for both sides to review the progress of activities in their existing water portfolio and explore additional areas for collaboration.

The goal was to translate the ideas discussed during the WaSH Leadership Summit into concrete actions for Ethiopia, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Addis Ababa, November 14, 2023 (FBC) – Ethiopia’s gross domestic product has doubled from 84 billion USD to 164 USD in the last five years despite various global and local constraints, the first time in the country’s economic growth history, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) asserted while addressing the parliament’s regular session this morning.

Reflecting on previous achievements and the government’s main priorities for the current fiscal year, the Prime Minister noted that among the main goals set in the Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda are stabilizing the country’s macro economy, modernizing and advancing the investment and business environment, increasing the productivity of sectors and increasing the capacity of the government.

Addis Ababa, November 14, 2023 (FBC) – The Ethiopian government believes that access to water, sanitation, and hygiene is a basic right of all people, Minister of Finance, Mr. Ahmed Shide, said in his remarks at the opening of Eastern and Southern Africa WaSH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) summit in Addis Ababa this morning.

The Eastern and Southern Africa WaSH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) summit kicked off in Addis in the presence of Finance and Water Ministers of the sub-region including the World Bank officials and representatives of the private sector.

The summit was opened by the remarks of Mr. Ahmed Shide, Finance Minister of Ethiopia, and Mrs. Victoria Kwakwa, Vice President of the World Bank Group for Eastern and Southern Africa.

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Addis Ababa, November 14, 2023 (FBC) – Ethiopian Airlines, the largest and leading aviation group in Africa, and its longstanding partner Boeing [NYSE:BA] today announced the carrier has agreed to order 11 787 Dreamliner and 20 737 MAX airplanes with an opportunity for 15 and 21 additional jets, respectively.

The agreement, signed by Ethiopia’s national carrier at the Dubai Airshow, represents the largest-ever purchase of Boeing airplanes in African history.

“We are pleased to announce that Ethiopian Airlines has reached a deal with Boeing to place a firm order for 31 ultra-modern airplanes, with opportunity for 36 additional jets,” said Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO Mr. Mesfin Tasew. “This order will enable us to modernize and increase our fleet in support of Ethiopian Airlines’ growth plan and our Vision 2035 Strategy. ....

Addis Ababa, November 9, 2023 (FBC) – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has pledged its backing to Ethiopia’s development undertakings.

KSA’s pledge was revealed during the discussion between Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide and his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Mohammed Al Jadaan, on the sidelines of the Saudi Arabia-African Economic Conference in Riyadh.

According to the Ethiopian Embassy in Riyadh, ​​the two ministers discussed Ethiopia’s ongoing economic reform, development undertakings, and debt restructuring.

The Minister of Finance of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Al Jadaan, confirmed that his government will continue to support the development activities being carried out in Ethiopia.

Recall that Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia have also signed a memorandum of understanding to work together in petroleum and energy sectors.

Addis Ababa, November 9, 2023 (FBC) – The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have signed an agreement to cooperate in the fields of petroleum and energy, the Ethiopia Embassy in Riyadh said.

The cooperation agreement was signed by Ethiopia’s Minister of Finance, Ahmed Shide, and the Minister of Energy of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Bin Salman Al Saud at the Saudi-African Economic Conference in Riyadh.

According to the Embassy, the latest agreement allows the two countries to cooperate in the fields of oil supply, energy technology transfer, and energy investment.

It is believed that this will prompt motivation for development activities in the field of energy and ensuring fuel supply for Ethiopia, according to the Embassy.

Addis Ababa, November 8, 2023 (FBC) – The Ethiopian Finance Minister, Ahmed Shide had conferred with senior officials of Saudi Fund for Development at their office in Riyadh.

They have discussed the existing and planned development projects that are being undertaken in Ethiopia.

The officials from the Saudi Fund for Development had expressed their commitment to support Ethiopia’s future infrastructure and development activities in the region.

Addis Ababa, November 3, 2023 (FBC) – The World Bank and the Government of Ethiopia completed a Joint Country Portfolio Performance Review (CPPR) on Thursday, the Ministry of Finace (MoF) announced in an official press release.

The Ministry indicated that the CPPR aimed to assess the progress of the ongoing projects supported by the World Bank, identify implementation challenges, and address issues affecting the portfolio performance.

During the two-day meeting, over 170 participants, including relevant World Bank officials, ministers, and state ministers, as well as staff of project implementing units, came together to review the performance of 33 World Bank-financed projects. MoF mentioned that these projects are part of a larger set of ongoing operations, totaling 43 in number, with a combined net commitment value of approximately USD 15 billion.

Addis Ababa, October 30, 2023 (FBC) – The Ministry of Finance and the government of Ireland today signed financing agreements in Addis Abeba that worth 8 million and 400,000 Euros.

This agreement has three components; among which, 5 million Euros is aimed to support the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP), 3 million Euros for the Health-focused Sustainable Development Goals SDG and 400,000 Euros will help to finance the Homegrown Economic Reform (HGER) program.

In a ceremony hosted at the Ministry of Finance in Addis Ababa on Monday 30 October, the agreement was signed by Mr. Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance, and Mr. Sean Fleming, Ireland’s State Minister for International Development, and the Diaspora.