MoFA State Minister confers with Chinese business delegation

Addis Ababa, January 23, 2024 (FBC) – Minister of State for Political and Economic Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mesganu Arga, earlier today met with a Chinese business delegation led by the Vice Chairman of the Department of International Relations of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Zhang Shaogang.

During the meeting, State Minister Ambassador Mesganu briefed the business delegation on the various trade and investment opportunities in Ethiopia. He said Chinese businesses should come and invest in Ethiopia in the agro-processing, chemicals and fertilizer, and steel manufacturing sectors, among others, to further cement the “All-Weather Strategic Partnership” recently announced by the two countries in the wake of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s visit in October 2023.

The State Minister said Ethiopia has become an important investment destination for China, whereas China is a major source of investment and a key trading partner for Ethiopia. Reassuring the business delegation of the Government’s continued commitment to foster more business-to-business ties between the two countries, Ambassador Mesganu told Mr. Shaogang that Ethiopia has much to offer in terms of investment and trade opportunities as it is expanding its industrial zones and free trade economic zones.

Reiterating the fact that Ethiopia is one of the major and pioneer subscribers of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Africa, the State Minister stressed that Ethiopia seeks to further unleash the opportunities in the areas of sustainable development, regional connectivity, trade, investment and tourism where Chinese enterprises can play a big role.

The Vice Chairman, on his part, congratulated Ethiopia for recently joining the BRICS family. He expressed China’s readiness to promote more trade and investment cooperation with Ethiopia in the future, per MFA Ethiopia.