Ethiopia-UAE Joint Technical Committee Meeting opened in Addis Ababa on Monday March 05, 2018, serving as an effective platform for the development of the bilateral cooperation at various levels within a range of economic sectors, and contributing towards the success of the Join Ministerial Commission meeting to be held over the week.
The Ethiopian delegation was led by Ambassador Suleiman Dedefo, Director General of the Middle East Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UAE delegation, was headed by Mohammed Sharaf, Assistant Minister for Economic and Trade Affairs of the UAE.Ambassador Suleiman, in his opening remarks, praised the plenty of potential areas of cooperation and the number of achievements witnessed in the last few years, which he said, demonstrated the commitment of the two sisterly countries. He reiterated the several common objectives Ethiopia and UAE share on regional and international issues related to peace, security and development. He also expressed the importance of the growing trade relations and investment ties between the two sides, while also noting that that there has been an increase in the number of Emirati investors now reaching more than 98 with a combined capital of over 10 bln Birr.
Mohammed Sharaf, on his part praised the vital role Ethiopia is playing in combating extremism as well as maintaining security in the Horn of Africa. He noted the UAE direct investment in Ethiopia for the years 2003-2017 amounted to around $523 mln, and described this as very encouraging, while UAE investment outflows are expected to increase with further investment agreements.
The UAE is the second largest destination for Ethiopian exports and imports in the Middle East.