The forum will bring 50 Italian companies to meet local companies in three sectors.The Italian Trade Agency and the Embassy of Italy in Ethiopia is set to host the first Italian-Ethiopian Business Forum here in Addis Ababa from June 19-20, 2019.
The Business Forum aimed at leveraging incentives provided by the Ethiopian Government to encourage foreign investments by bringing the Italian government support to private abroad investments with the Italian States financial and banking guarantees.
The forum also see to present the Ethio-Italian success stories and creating a new direct connection between Ethiopian and Italian companies.
The forum will be attended by three sectors including infrastructure, textile, leather, and agro-processing stakeholders and the respective local private sector. The forum also will bring the primary influencers of each sector, their association and the policymakers together.
The ITA brings more than 50 Italian Companies to Ethiopia led by Italian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Prof. Emanuela del Re, to meet 150 local private companies.
The forum came to Ethiopia as the two countries set to celebrate 130 years of diplomatic relationships following up the official visit of Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed to Italy last October and the Italian Prime Minister Prof. Giuseppe Conte visit to Ethiopia at the start of this year.
The Italian Trade Agency Trade Commissioner Ms. Simona Autuori said “the three sectors are identified as they are the top priority of the Growth and Development plan II of GOE. Furthermore, the infrastructure sector is selected as it is the driving forces of Ethiopian current development.”
Supporting her idea, the Italian Embassy Commercial Office Head Pietro Panarello noted that the forum will further the historic political and commercial ties of the two countries.
The two days business forum witness a panelist discussion among the government officials from Ethiopian Investment Commission, chamber of commerce and their counterpart Confindustria and Italian deposit and loan funds.
In 2018 the value of the Italy-Ethiopia trade was about 292 million Euro including 235 million of the Italian exports and 57 million of Ethiopian Exports to Italy (increased by 15.2 % compared to the previous year). In 2017 Italian foreign direct investments in Ethiopia amounted to 23 million euros, with a constantly growing trend over the last 5 years (in 2012 the FDI was worth 20.5 million).