February 17, 2021 (Walta) – Ambassador Hirut Zemene held a virtual discussion with Lise Betjes, Area Manager of Africa at the Flanders Investment and Trade Agency on strategic investment opportunities in Ethiopia and mutual cooperation.
During the discussion, the Ambassador explained the untapped investment resources that exist for foreign investors in Ethiopia and the market access such as AGOA and EBA.
She also noted the launching of the AfCFTA will provide another wide market opportunity to do business with Ethiopia and Africa.
The availability of a trainable and affordable labor force and a huge local market with more than 110 million populations also makes Ethiopia more attractive to investors, she said.
Ambassador Hirut Zemene also noted that there are some prominent companies from the Flanders region that have invested in Ethiopia which could encourage more companies from the region and Belgium at large to follow suit.
She also said that more companies would be welcome to invest in the country. She further stated the importance of holding a business promotion event in cooperation with FIT to increase awareness of the investment opportunities in Ethiopia for mutual benefits.
Lise Betjes, on her part, thanked the Embassy for the briefing and said that the Flanders Investment and Trade Agency would work with the other regional investment and trade agencies to organize a business delegation to visit Ethiopia when the COVID-19 situation allows.
She also expressed further interest in working with the embassy on sector-specific promotional activities.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, the two sides agreed to explore areas of collaboration to promote Ethiopia in the Flanders region.
Flanders Investment and Trade Agency (FIT) is one of the three regional bodies promoting foreign trade and investment in the Flanders region and abroad.