Category: Finance

House of People’s Representatives (HPR) Foreign Relations and Peace Affairs Standing Committee Chairperson Dima Negewo and Pakistan Ambassador Atif Sharif held talks today about further bolstering the bilateral relations between the two countries.

The standing committee chairperson said on the occasion the two sides discussed about ways of further enhancing trade exchange and investment as well as tourism between the countries.

They also stressed the need to further bolster parliamentary cooperation and promised to conduct exchange of visits of the speakers of the parliaments and their counterparts, Dima added.

Pakistan Ambassador to Ethiopia, Atif Sharif pointed out that the parliamentary relationships between the countries could further strengthen bilateral relations.

According to him, Pakistan attaches very high importance to its relations with Ethiopia, which is one of the largest countries in Africa and the lynchpin in the Horn of Africa.

‘We have close cooperation on the multilateral affairs. We al
so have strong trade relations and there’s a lot of potential to increase bilateral trade,’ the ambassador stated.

Pakistan is now looking to have more parliamentary exchanges as parliamentary cooperation is the key to improve bilateral relations, Sharif said.

Moreover, he indicated that there is room for cooperation in tourism as Ethiopian Airlines is now going directly to Karachi four times a week.

And the Ethiopian government opened embassy in Islamabad last year, which is also playing an active role in connecting both countries together, the ambassador stated. ‘So, we are looking for an exciting period of cooperation ahead of us.’

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The Ethiopian Institutional Success Award will strengthen cooperation and competitiveness, officials of institutions, who received the award yesterday from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed during a ceremony, held at the Adwa Victory Memorial yesterday said.

Prime Minister Abiy honored five institutions/projects with the Ethiopian Institutional Success Award, celebrating their significant achievements and global impact.

The distinguished awardees include the Ministry of Agriculture’s wheat program, Ethiopian Airlines, Ethio Post, Ethio Telecom, and the GERD Project, each a testament to Ethiopia’s growth and innovation.

Officials of the institutions said that the recognition not only motivates them on to greater efforts, but also sets an example for other institutions.

Kifle Horo, General Manager of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project, said the award has given recognition not only to the project but also to all Ethiopians.

Moreover, he elaborated that the honor will create motivation and encourage
all institutions to work hard in their respective fields.

Ethiopian Airlines CEO Mesfin Tasew said on his part the award gives morale to the employees who work day and night for the success of the airlines.

The recognition will help to create robust and viable institutions at the national level as it encourages other institutions to intensify efforts for successful achievements, he added.

The CEO of Ethio-Telecom, Frehiwot Tamru said that following the national reform, the institution has carried out many activities to provide better and effective services to its customers.

Thus, the award not only recognizes achievements, but also creates inspiration to do better works in the future, she elaborated.

Minister of Agriculture, Girma Amente stated that the successes registered in wheat production in recent years demonstrates the fact that effective work can be accomplished by creating a better plan and incorporating all relevant parties.

The award has given recognition to all Ethiopian farmers and pastoral
ists, the minister added.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on the awarding ceremony that the institutions were awarded for doing work that made them competitive at the continental level.

He also stated that the awards given to the institutions stimulate them to do more in the future.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Oshikoto regional council chairperson, Samuel Shivute has urged the inhabitants of the region to pay close attention to the challenges they face, including the lack of clean water and recommend various solutions.

Shivute made the remarks during a regional consultative meeting held at Omuthiya by the National Planning Commission on the Sixth National Development Plan (NDP6) on Tuesday.

He said the region continues to experience a lack of water in most rural areas and there is a need for boreholes and upgrading of water treatment reservoirs and pipelines to ensure that the challenge is addressed.

Shivute also informed the meeting that the region lacks proper roads, more specifically feeder roads in most areas of Eengodi, Okankolo, omuntele, and Nehale lya Mpingana constituencies which hinder development as most of the services are inaccessible.

‘We have a high unemployment rate and a lack of school infrastructure mostly in the rural parts of the region such as classrooms and hostels, and tertiary institutio
ns,’ said Shivute.

NPC executive director (ED) Wilhencia Uiras said that they are in consultations with regional councils and all stakeholders both agents and beneficiaries of development to formulate the NDP6 through which the NPC spearheads and coordinates national socio-economic planning.

‘The NDP6 will be the last in the series towards Vision 2030 to be implemented from March 2025/2026 to March 2030/2031 financial years,’ said Uiras.

She said that the NDP6 calls for all stakeholders, agents, and beneficiaries of development to work together and leverage synergies in executing programmes and projects and discourages dependencies and recipient syndrome.

The Oshikoto Regional Council’s acting Chief Regional Officer, Peter Ndawedwa said that the region will play a crucial role in the implementation of the NDP6 by aligning regional development efforts with national priorities and coordinating development activities.

‘We will collaborate with relevant stakeholders to mobilise resources and implement infras
tructure projects effectively,’ said Ndawedwa.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

WINDHOEK: The Namibia Airports Company (NAC) on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with key stakeholders aimed at fostering collaboration towards the expansion of the aviation sector through the launch of the ‘Air Connect Namibia’ project.

Speaking at the signing ceremony here, NAC Chief Executive Officer Bisey /Uirab said the aviation sector is a driver of the country’s economic activities and therefore there must be collaboration amongst key stakeholders to define the economic development and ensure that Namibia continues to play a role as the logistics hub in the region.

He explained that the project, amongst others, aims to target specific airlines to come to Namibia; formulate an air connectivity forum and have a broader air service development programme initiated.

‘The steering committee will have roles to play in ensuring that we have sufficient funding for this project so that we are able to do the work and to attract airlines and people who come to our country via air, as well as t
o ensure that we provide policy and strategic guidance to the industry,’ he said.

He noted that with the discovery of oil, and gas and the development of green hydrogen and other government initiatives, Namibia will need the air transport sector to come into play to ensure that travellers come to Namibia easily.

At the same event, NTB Acting Chief Executive Officer Bonnie Mbidzo said there is a need for Namibia to diversify its tourist arrivals through air connectivity as currently, the country relies heavily on German tourist arrivals.

‘We need to diversify into other markets but in those markets, we don’t have connectivity or airlift to Namibia and this project gives us that platform. Our statistics show that in the Netherlands, Belgium or east Europe the Italians the figures are there but connectivity to Namibia has been a problem,’ Mbidzo noted.

Equally, Director of Transport and Regulations in the Ministry of Works and Transport, Cedric Limbo said Namibia wants to become a logistical hub for the Sout
hern African Development Community (SADC) which will require efforts and initiatives such as the ‘Air Connect Namibia’.

‘The signed agreement will smoothen and fast-track the aspect of us becoming a logistical hub. Our aim as a government is really to urge our key stakeholders to unlock other markets. We should not only focus on the traditional markets, yes we have the Germans and the British but we need to unlock other markets,’ he noted.

The parties involved include the Namibia Tourism Board (NTB); the City of Windhoek (CoW); Gondwana Collection; Walvis Bay Corridor Group; the Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Namibia Investment Promotion Board.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

The Minister of Agriculture Girma Amente held discussion with the Executive Director of World Bank Group, Floribert Ngaruko on ways to enhancing collaboration in the development of the agricultural sector.

Various activities are being carried out in Ethiopia with a view to ensuring food security by increasing the productivity of the agricultural sector, producing quality export products on a large scale and enhance import substitution.

Ministry of Agriculture has also been implementing agricultural development programs and projects with a budget support obtained from the World Bank by engaging the community.

Agriculture Minister, Girma Amente and the Executive Director of World Bank Group, Floribert Ngaruko exchanged views about the Bank’s comprehensive support to the agricultural sector.

On the occasion, the minister stated that in the last 5 years, the government has been paying great attention to the agricultural sector.

He thanked the World Bank for its support in the process of modernizing the agric
ultural sector.

The minister went on to say that the bank need to support Ethiopia’s initiatives being implemented to ensuring food security by boosting productivity and relieving the agriculture sector of its reliance on rainfall through the use of alternative water sources.

For his part, Floribert Ngaruko, Executive Director of the World Bank, gave a thorough explanation of the ways in which the bank can work with the Ministry of Agriculture to support development initiatives and programs intended to modernize Ethiopia’s agricultural sector and ensure food security.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

High level government officials led by Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh visited the ongoing construction of Lemi National Cement Factory in North Shewa Zone of Amhara Region today.

On the occasion, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the construction process of the factory has reached at a critical stage of completion of civil and electromechanical works where it will be able to produce cement.

He stated that the factory will contribute a lot in boosting the nation’s production capacity of cement up on completion.

The Deputy Prime Minister also affirmed that the federal and regional government will work together to help the factory commence production in short period of time.

Chief Administrator of Amhara Regional State, Arega Kebede said the completion and production commencement of Lemi National Cement Factory is expected to address the shortages of cement in the country.

The construction of Lemi National Cement Factory is being underway with a cost of 2.2 billion USD in North Shewa Zone of Amhar
a Region some 150 km north of Addis Ababa.

Up on completion, the factory is set to produce 10,000 tons of cement daily.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency