Prime Minister Hailemarim Desalegn held discussions with the
UAE’s Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at his offices on
Thursday (March 22). On the occasion, Prime Minister Hailemariam extended
appreciation to Sheikh Abdullah for his second visit to Ethiopia and
highlighted its value to the bilateral relations of the two countries.
He told the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia's decision to open
a new embassy in Abu Dhabi, in addition to its already operational consulate in
Dubai, in a bid to further strengthen the relationship between the two
countries.
Prime Minister Hailemariam also expressed Ethiopia’s desire
to deepen bilateral relations between the two countries in the areas of trade
and investment. He remarked, “Ethiopia is one of the fastest growing green
economies in the world and we need more foreign direct investment in our
efforts to transform from an agrarian to an industry-led economy.” He explained
that “Ethiopia offers huge opportunities to UAE investors interested in
agriculture, renewable energy and sugar” and expressed his desire to see
increasing UAE investment in Ethiopia.
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan stated the UAE’s
interest in working with Ethiopia in the energy development, research, food
security and tourism sectors. He said, “The UAE has experience in energy
development investments in Morocco, the UK and the North Sea and we are ready
to invest in Ethiopia too“. He also pointed out that as the UAE is a food
importing nation there is huge potential for the two countries to cooperate in
this area. In their discussions on regional matters, Sheikh Abdullah expressed his
admiration for Ethiopia’s efforts in bringing peace to Somalia. He said, “We
appreciate the sacrifice you have paid to bring stability in Somalia” and
expressed the UAE’s readiness to work with Ethiopia on all matters of peace and
security in the region.
In his concluding
remarks the Foreign Minister told Prime Minister Hailemariam of the UAE’s
desire to double the number of Ethiopians working in the country. Hailemariam
responded "Ethiopia is ready to send more Ethiopian workers to the UAE as
soon as the labor agreement between the two countries is signed” and added “we
are happy to see Ethiopians working in UAE as long as their protection is
guaranteed and there is legal framework put in place to govern their employment
relations in the host country.”
Source: Ethiopian MFA
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