Trade delegation to Ethiopia announced

The India Africa Trade Council organized the India Ethiopia Trade Conference which was attended by the Business community in South India especially Tamil Nādu. The President of Indian Economic Trade Organization Dr. Asif Iqbal welcomed the Ambassador of Ethiopia in India HE Dr. Tizita Mulugeta and pledged the commitment of support between the two nations for a robust partnership. There is a huge interest in India for Ethiopia, a country with great scope for bilateral trading opportunities in Pharma, Medicines, IT development, Textiles, Garments and Industrial development by Indian companies. The Ambassador was also accompanied by the Minister, Counsellor from the Ethiopian Embassy in New Delhi Demesev Kebede Tekle who presented the latest reformed business policy of Ethiopia that is very prospective for investors. The Minister for NRI Affairs of Tamilnadu Cingee Mastaan delivered the address and welcomed Ambassador of Ethiopia to Chennai. He read out the commitment of the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu who is pushing foreign relations to a new reformed policy in the state.

During the Event the Ambassador presented the Ethiopian Coffee to the Minister and the MEA official and will explore the option of formally launching the coffee during the visit of the Investment Council of Ethiopia in April 1st week. The Economic Investment Council will be visiting Mumbai and Chennai to cover the opportunities and invite prospective businessmen to invest in Ethiopia in sectors of Pharmaceutical, Garments, Textiles, Agro processing.

The event was attended by the Head of MEA Secretariat Mr. Venkatachalam Murugan IFS who also spoke about accelerating India’s relationship with the African region and welcomed delegates from Tamilnadu state to pledge support for the various other island nations around the African region. Previously he was heading the East and South Africa (ESA) division in the Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India. Dr. B. Ramakrishnan(BRK), Director of COMESA spoke about India’s efforts in strengthening relations especially when India is celebrating 75 years of India’s Independence. India has also in the past extended various credit lines to Ethiopia through the Exim Bank a line of credit of USD 75 million (over Rs 500 crore) for financing Industrial parks. An agreement was signed between Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) in July 2020. Modern diplomatic relations between India and Ethiopia were established at the level of legations in July 1948, after the independence of India.

Some of the major Indian companies in Ethiopia are Cadila Pharmaceuticals PLC, S & P Energy Solution PLC, Tata International Limited, Karuturi Global PLC, Kanoria Africa Textiles PLC, Mohan Group of companies, Anmol Products Ethiopia PLC and many others

During the conference, the letter of Appointment was given to Stephin Kureekal George as the Trade commissioner for the India Africa Trade Council-Ethiopia. He will drive the relationships between the two countries. “Kerala being a hub for many GCC countries can be a great destination for Ethiopia due to its proximity and its past linkages to India, We welcome investments for Ethiopia and will act as a catalyst to connect this country with our state of Kerala” said Mr. Stephin Kureekal George who will be opening the trade office soon.

The ongoing Government of India assistance in developmental projects in Ethiopia continued with sanctioned Lines of Credit worth more than US$1 billion to the Government of Ethiopia for construction of sugar factories and power transmission lines. Ethiopia is one of the largest recipient of long term concessional credit from India in Africa.

The Ambassador also presented the opportunities to the main guests from Tamilnadu and also expressed great interest in supporting the trade relations between the two countries and invited the trade community to explore all the available choices for investors.

India Africa Trade Council (IATC) is working on building bilateral trade relations by assisting Indian companies that are looking at various projects coming up in African region for promoting growth in commerce and trade, especially in Indian Pharma which likely to increase as the Ethiopia market expands. The India Africa Trade Council previously hosted the Additional Secretary of the Africa region, Ministry of External Affairs during which the mechanisms between India and Africa were concluded.