Addis Ababa, January 20, 2022 (Walta) – Ethiopia and Eurasian Economic Union discuss plans for the development of cooperation in 2022.
Ethiopian Ambassador to Russia, Alemayehu Tegenu and Director of the Department of Integration Development of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Gohar Barseghyan withheld a working meeting at the EEC headquarters.
“Ethiopia is our traditional trade partner in Africa. The trade turnover between EEU member states and Ethiopia in January – October 2021 increased by 4.7 times compared to the same period in 2020. This is of particular importance in connection with the plans to double the trade turnover with the countries of the continent, which were announced during the Russia-Africa summit in 2019,” Gohar Barseghyan said, praising the dynamics of interaction with the Ethiopian side.
The ambassador, in turn, noted that goods from Ethiopia, such as flowers, textiles, coffee, beans are traditionally in demand and competitive in the EEU market.
Ambassador Alemayehu also spoke in favor of intensifying the dialogue with all the states of the Union, taking into account the opportunities offered by the single market of the EEU.
The parties stressed the importance of involving the business community in the dialogue between the EEU and Ethiopia, including with a view to raising their awareness of the opportunities for using the EEU common system of tariff preferences for developing and least developed countries, as well as certain aspects of supranational regulation within the EEU.
According to Gohar Barseghyan, there is a serious potential for increased interaction between the EEU and the African Union. A draft program of cooperation between EEC and the African Union has been prepared to unlock this potential.
During the meeting, the parties also expressed their willingness to continue cooperation at major international discussion platforms, such as the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Eurasian Economic Forum, the Russia-Africa Summit, and others, according to the Russian Embassy in Ethiopia.