Addis Ababa, February 16, 2021 (FBC) –State Minister of Finance, Dr. Eyob Tekalign, attended a virtual meeting held to promote Ethiopia’s investment opportunities to French companies.
The meeting was held with MEDEF International, the biggest employers’ association in France, regrouping other major French companies some of which have investments in Ethiopia and are exploring ways to expand their investments in the country.
In his opening remark, the State Minister briefed the investors about the measures being taken by Ethiopia to correct macro-economic imbalances and to encourage the private sector to take up key roles in Ethiopia’s economy.
He also elaborated the home-grown economic reform agenda of Ethiopia, which focuses on attracting and diversifying investment flow to the country through improvements in policies and regulations.
Dr. Eyob explained that Ethiopia received $1.6 billion in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows in the last six months running from July through December 2020.
He said agro-processing, tourism, manufacturing, mining, and IT sectors are government’s priority investment areas.
According to the Ethiopian Investment Commission, during the period between 1996-2020, French companies have invested 4.7 billion birr in Ethiopia in manufacturing, agriculture, real estate, hotels, tour operation, and other sectors, creating over 4000 permanent and 2700 temporary job opportunities.
Ethiopia and France have had a very long economic partnerships starting with the building of the Ethio-Djibouti railway in the latter part of the 19th century.
The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ethiopian Investment Commission, and the Ethiopian Embassy in Paris.