Addis Ababa, April 20, 2023 (FBC) – The Minister of Finance of Ethiopia, Ahmed Shide, held a meeting with William Roos, Assistant Secretary Multilateral at the French Ministry of Economy and Co-Chair of the Official Creditors Committee (OCC) for Ethiopia, under the G20’s Common Framework for Debt Treatment, Ministry of Finance said.
According to the Ministry, the meeting provided an opportunity for the parties to review the progress of the several agreements reached between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during the two leaders’ meeting in February this year.
The two parties discussed the progress of the OCC’s work and the steps to accelerate Ethiopia’s debt treatment. They also discussed the state of several bilateral strategic investments by French companies in the country including in infrastructure, communication, transport and agriculture, among others.
The Minister of Finance, Ahmed Shide, underscored that the longstanding and close bilateral relationship between the two countries is further strengthened by France’s commitment to the development aspirations of Ethiopia and Ethiopians.
He highlighted the success of several French companies that invested in Ethiopia and the commitment of the Ministry to work closely with French counterparts to encourage French investment in Ethiopia.
The Minister appreciated the keen interest shown by French companies in sectors that were recently liberalized and committed to work hand-in-hand to realize ongoing investment discussions.
The Ministry recalled that subsequent to Ethiopia’s request for debt treatment and the establishment of the Official Creditors’ Committee (OCC), France and the People’s Republic of China successfully established the Creditors’ Committee for Ethiopia, which so far convened five meetings to discuss the request and provide Ethiopia the necessary financing assurance.
Mr. Ross, in his capacity as the Co-Chair of the Paris Club and the Co-Chair of the OCC for Ethiopia, briefed the Minister the current state of the discussion and the excellent working dynamics of the OCC and the commitment shown by all creditors to deliver a financing assurance in line with the broader IMF program.
Most importantly, Mr. Ross also highlighted the success of Creditor Committees that completed debt treatment requests for Chad and Zambia and assured the minister of the dedication of the Paris Club to expeditiously resolve the debt treatment request of Ethiopia.