DPM & FM Demeke calls on AU member states to industrialize, boost intrastate trade

Addis Ababa, November 23, 2022 (FBC) – The FDRE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia, Demeke Mekonnen, said AU member states should redouble their efforts to industrialize and boost intra-African trade.

Speaking at the Extra-Ordinary Summit on Industrialization and Economic Diversification held in Niamey, Niger, today (November 23) DPM & FM Demeke said industrialization determines whether Africa can transform its natural endowments into tradable products or depend on imported products from outside.

DPM & FM Demeke, who underscored the importance of allocating necessary resources to kick-start industrialization in the continent and transform the economy, also called AU member states determinations to change the visions into implementable actions.

Ethiopia implemented Home-grown economic reform program with the sole purpose of creating conducive economic environment for the private sector by removing structural red tapes number of industrial policies in the past few years with impressive results, Demeke elaborated.

He also said Ethiopia throw its weight behind the AU’s initiative to industrialize the continent.

Attendants at the Summit said industrialization is not an event but a process and Africa has all the assets for job creation and industrialization.