EU Ready to Support Ethiopia in Rehabilitation, Recovery Endeavors

Addis Ababa, May 20, 2023 (FBC) – The European Union (EU) is ready to re-engage Ethiopia more strongly in supporting its rehabilitation, reconstruction, and recovery endeavors, Ambassador Roland Kobia said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the EU Delegation Head to Ethiopia stated that the diplomatic normalization has come after the peace accord signed in Pretoria, South Africa, to terminate the war in the northern part of the country.

“The war is now over, and congratulations to Ethiopia for having managed to overcome this very difficult moment,” he said.

According to Kobia, the longstanding relationship with Ethiopia, as one of a few countries which the EU has a strategic engagement with, had gone through difficult times following the conflict.

“Now the EU is ready to re-engage more strongly with Ethiopia in terms of supporting the rehabilitation, reconstruction, and recovery of the country after all the destruction that has taken place during the war. And in this new period, we really want to partner with all our member states or our friends to support Ethiopia to overcome this difficult moment.”

The head pointed out that Ethiopia has been notably adopting a comprehensive package of reforms that are needed in the country on macro economy, taxes, revenue, and containing inflation, among others.

“Ethiopia has embarked on a nationally owned reform of the economy,” the ambassador noted.

Kobia believes that all these reforms are needed for EU’s support and will help Ethiopia to recover from its dire economic situation.

Accordingly, Kobia stressed There is a need to have more efficient assistance to the recovery of Ethiopia from the European Union and other international partners, he stressed.

Ethiopia is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in order to have the recovery package by presenting a number of economic reforms, he stated, adding that this is something the EU is supporting and we want Ethiopia to be able to convince the international financial institutions that would help to access those recovery packages as quickly as possible.

“The reason for this is that we as international partners will be able to help Ethiopia much better if there is an IMF plan. The second example I can take on the reforms that are needed is having a conducive environment for businesses, not only foreign businesses, but also for Ethiopian businesses.”

Moreover, the head said that it is very crucial for the recovery of the economy that a conducive framework, a good environment for foreign direct investment and for local investments is created.

Ambassador Kobia also revealed that European companies are ready to come more massively to invest in Ethiopia since the war is over.

“We very much believe that European companies are ready to come more massively to invest in Ethiopia. So our commitment is that the European companies are ready to come and invest in Ethiopia. Those who are here may increase their investment and others engage in Ethiopia. But for that, we really need to work together on a number of issues.”