Ethiopia, Germany to hold bilateral negotiations on dev’t cooperation

Addis Ababa, November 10, 2023 (FBC) – A preparatory meeting for Ethiopia-Germany government negotiations on development cooperation was held yesterday at the Ministry of Finance.

The purpose of the meeting, according to the Ministry of Finance, was to discuss thoroughly and have a clear and common understanding for the negotiations to be held on November 27-28, 2023.

Chaired by Ms. Semereta Sewasew, Minister of State for Economic Cooperation at the Ministry of Finance of Ethiopia and Mr. Benjamin Tedla Hecker, Head of Development Cooperation, the preparatory meeting brought together officials from the Ministries of Agriculture, Education, Labor and Skills, and Justice of Ethiopia as well as the Embassy of Germany in Addis Ababa, KfW Development Bank and German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ).

During the meeting, draft priority sectors were presented by the Germany side under three broad areas; peaceful and inclusive societies, transformation of agricultural and food systems, and sustainable economic development, training and employment.

The line Ministries then extended their appreciation to the government of Germany for continued support in line with the Ethiopian government’s perspective sectoral plans and complemented the areas by listing out their priorities, justifications for further interventions, and potential initiatives.

The meeting was concluded after an agreement was reached by both sides to focus on key priority sectors and to ensure synergy and coordination among and within the Ministries and to come up with concise and clear presentations and documents for the upcoming bilateral negotiations, as per the Ministry of Finance.