Addis Ababa, 16 September 2014 (WIC) – Alongside the first Canada-Africa 2014 Business Summit, the Ethio-Canada Business and Investment Summit also opened on Monday (September 15) in Toronto.
This four-day meeting is co-organized by Wafa Marketing and Promotion PLC, the Ethiopian Embassy in Canada and Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association in collaboration with the Canadian Embassy in Ethiopia, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Mines, TFO Canada, and CCAfrica.
It is specifically showcasing the value of doing business in Ethiopia and aiming to bring together the two business communities to build more comprehensive and closer bilateral ties based on mutual benefit and common prosperity, deepen business-to-business ties through success stories from business persons and industry experts, and brief Canadian investors on Ethiopia’s current and future economic trajectory, investment landscape and opportunities.
Attending the meeting were Ethiopia’s Minister of Mines, Tolossa Shagie; Minister of Water, Irrigation and Energy, AlemayehuTegenu; Speaker of the House of Federation, Kassa Tekle-Berhan; the Founder and Director of Canadian Council on Africa, Nola Kianza; Senator Don Meredith; Ambassador of Canada to Ethiopia and Djibouti, and Permanent Representative to the AU, Ambassador David Usher; and Ambassador of Ethiopia to Canada, Ambassador Birtukan Ayano, as well as business leaders and other stakeholders.
Ambassador TayeAtske-Selassie, Director-General of American Affairs in Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry, opened and chaired the Summit, thanking the organizers and participants for making the meeting a success for the continued growth of the bilateral ties of the two nations.
Ambassador Birtukan Ayano welcomed the role of Ethiopia as a Country of Focus within the auspices of the Canada-Africa Business Summit.
She said “Ethiopia is poised to become a new frontier for FDI in Africa,” adding that this Summit would encourage and help Canadian investors to participate in Ethiopia’s rapid and sustainable economic growth and tap into the tremendous investment potential of the nation.
She stressed Ethiopia had a lot to offer Canadian development partners including a vibrant and trainable labor force, easily accessible and cheap utility services and a decade of double digit economic growth.
Ambassador David Usher said that this Summit could be seen as a reflection of the need for a growing cooperative economic partnership.
He also noted Ethiopia’s fast growing economy underlined the need to renew the strategic partnership of the two countries.
The current economic growth in Ethiopia, he said, was already generating an increasing business interest from Canadian companies.
Zemedneh Nigatu, Managing Partner of Ernst and Young, presented reasons of investing and doing business in Ethiopia with the theme “Investing in Emerging Ethiopia.”
He detailed ten reasons including Ethiopia’s growing economy and macro-economic stability, demographic advantages, rapid urbanization, its role as a manufacturing hub of Africa, massive infrastructure development, and energy infrastructure development, untapped agricultural resources, tourism, and favorable operating business environment as well as its strategic position.
The Ethio-Canada Business and Investment Summit is also showcasing panel discussions, question and answer sessions, and deliberations on Ethiopia as a Country of Focus within the Canada-Africa Business Summit. (MoFA)