Ethiopia may collaborate with India in areas of education, tea, leather and manufacturing to boost bilateral trade between the two countries.
Speaking at an interactive session on 'Enhancing Indo-Ethiopian business Co-operation' organised by theBengal National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BNCCI), Gennet Zewdie, ambassador of Ethiopia in India said, "Ethiopia will look forward to collaborate with India primarily in the areas of education, tea and leather, where there is considerable scope of expansion.Manufacturing sector is also equally significant and we are interested in partnering with India."
The country, also considerably rich in tea production accounting for about 50 per cent exports, had newly designated about 50,000 hectares for tea cultivation, with an Indian company from Kerela all ready to commence production on 10,000 hectares, informed Zewdie. Ethiopia also had a potential in leather specialising in dress and sports gloves and produced around 24,000 pair of leather shoes and had set a target of producing 80,000 pair within 2010, again highlighting ample scope of investment in this sector as well, further informed Zewdie.
With the healthcare and the hospitality sectors also growing, India stood a good chance of investing and setting up more restaurants in Ethiopia since 'Indian cuisine' was quite popular there, she further added.