Addis Ababa Intends To Enhance Pak Presence In Ethiopian Markets: Envoy

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Feb, 2023 ) :Addis Ababa intends to enhance Pakistani presence in Ethiopian markets and in this regard, a Pakistani delegation has been arranged, said Jemal Beker Abdula, Ambassador Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Islamabad.

The second flight from Faisalabad will airlift the participating businessmen after Karachi, he said while addressing the business community of Faisalabad at the FCCI on Thursday. He said that Ethiopia was the gateway to the virgin land of Africa and the Pakistani business community must exploit its untapped potential.

Introducing Ethiopia, he said that it is the land of creation of mankind and also a homeland of various civilizations.

He said that River Nile is yet another major factor for investment in this country and added that this river contributes heavily to the economy of Ethiopia as it also links 11 neighboring countries.�� He particularly mentioned Hazrat Bilal Habshi and Nijashi and said that it has special attraction for the Muslims from all over the world.

He said that a massive reform agenda was introduced in 2018 and various initiatives have been taken to open this country for the global business community.

He said that Russia, China and India are also present but his government intends to ensure the proactive presence of Pakistan in Ethiopia.

He said that Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing economies of the world for the last two decades and Pakistani business should also explore emerging opportunities not only to strengthen its economic ties with Ethiopia but also to penetrate deep into the other adjoining countries.

Enumerating the economic potentialities of Ethiopia, he said that it provides cheapest raw material for the production including energy in addition to the best human resource of productive age like Pakistan.

He mentioned the ranking of Ethiopia in Easy of Doing Business and said that we have identified five major sectors where the Pakistani business community could invest for the mutual benefit of the two countries. In this connection, he particularly mentioned agriculture and processing in addition to the manufacturing sector which may include textile, pharmaceutical and surgical equipment etc.

He said that Pakistani businessmen should register their companies as they have enormous opportunities to invest or launch joint ventures.

He also assured to identify the potential but reliable businessmen for Ethiopia who could collaborate with their Pakistani counterparts.

Underlining the importance of current delegations, he said that it would be subsidized by the Ethiopian government as we would provide them free transportation during their stay in Ethiopia. Similarly, subsidy would also be doled out on hotel fare.

Responding to different questions, he assured Pakistani businessmen to negotiate meetings with their counterparts and help them to directly import coffee, tea, chickpea and cashew nuts, soybean, white kidney beans etc.

"His country was currently producing natural soybean, however, now we are considering introducing GMO varieties of different crops including soybean", he added.

He also assured to streamline the banking system which was currently a major hurdle in the bilateral trade between the two countries.

He said that it has surplus energy including electricity which could also be exported to neighboring countries through the African grid.

Similarly Ethiopia also intends to promote peace in the entire world in general and in the region in particular to develop this country as a developed economic hub of this region.

Earlier, Senior Vice President FCCI Dr Sajjad Arshad welcomed the guests and said that Faisalabad Chamber is the mother organization of all trade bodies presented in this district.

He said that we are developing the latest and state of the art industrial estate where a number of foreign units are also operating successfully.

He lamented that the current volume of bilateral trade is only 78 million Dollars but is it encouraging that the worthy ambassador intends to enhance it to 300 million dollars by the end of this year.

He also expressed concerns over lack of proper banking channels and direct air links which are major impediments in the promotion of bilateral trade.

Dr Arshad said that Pakistan is currently importing tea to the tune of 13 billion dollars per annum from different countries and substantial import orders could be diverted to Ethiopia if the quality of its products are good and the issue of banking channels is resolved.

He said that Pakistan is currently exporting rice, pharmaceutical and surgical instruments to Ethiopia but still there is a huge gap between the demand and supply.

Honorary Consul General of Ethiopia Mr. Ibrahim Khalid Tawab briefed the participants about the proposed trade delegation and hoped that maximum participants from Faisalabad would also join it to personally witness the business opportunity in Ethiopia.

A presentation was also screened which was followed by a question-answer session.

Sheikh Muhammad Fazil, Sohail Butt, Engineer Ahmad Hasan, Bilal Shehzad and Aftab Ahmad took part in the question-answer session.

SVP FCCI Dr Sajjad Arshad and VP Hajji Aslam Bhalli presented FCCI shield to Ethiopian Envoy Mr Jemal Bekar Abdula while Engineer Asim Munir offered vote of thanks.

Collar badges were also presented to the members of the Ethiopia delegation.

Later, Mr. Jemal Bekar Abdula also recorded his impression in the visitors book of the FCCI.