Turkish, Ethiopian companies meet to boost trade

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - More than 30 Turkish company representatives met their Ethiopian counterparts in the capital Addis Ababa on Thursday to discuss the ongoing boom in economic relations between the countries.

The Turkish Exporters Assembly member who led the Turkish delegation, Ali Ozinonu, said there was plan to raise the trade volume between the two countries to $1billion over the next five years.

“The trade volume [which currently stands at $440 million] does not reflect the potential,” he said at the meeting, which was attended by officials from the Ethiopian Chambers of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Turkish ambassador to Ethiopia, Fatih Ulusoy, said Turkish companies operating in Ethiopia had become the country's top employers with a total of 30,000 Ethiopians on their payrolls.

He added that Ethiopia will see increased and more diversified investments from Turkey in the coming years in the areas of construction, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and engineering, among others.

Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekcin's visit last December, during which his delegation signed a key economic cooperation pact with Ethiopia, gave more impetus to business relations between the two countries, he said.

He announced that a major Turkey-Africa Agriculture and Agri Bussiness Ministerial Forum will be held in Turkey on April 27-28.