Ethiopian PM pays first visit to Qatar, seeking investment in his country

DOHA, Qatar - The Prime Minister of Ethiopia Dr Abiy Ahmed arrived in Doha this morning on an official visit to Qatar.

Upon arrival, he was received by Jassim bin Saif Al Sulaiti, Minister of Communications.

During his visit, the Prime Minister will meet with the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani of Qatar to discuss bilateral relations and the prospects for their development, in addition to a number of issues of common concern.

The Ethiopian-Qatari relations are taking a new step towards further cooperation, with the visit of Prime Minister Abe Ahmed today.

His visit is of exceptional importance, being his first since he took office in March 2018, and following a major breakthrough in his country on the level of public freedoms and settlement of differences with neighbouring countries to strengthen Ethiopia’s status as a regional power in the Horn of Africa.

The success of the Ethiopian-Qatari start-up is reinforced by the strong desire and willingness of Doha and Addis Ababa to develop and expand relations in all areas of mutual interest. This was confirmed by the visit of the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to Ethiopia in April 2017.

Recent years have witnessed a remarkable development in bilateral relations between the two countries, which began decades ago, with the official announcement of the establishment of diplomatic relations between them in 1995.

The development of relations is reflected in a large number of high-level reciprocal visits and the signing of a number of bilateral agreements, which are a strong indication of the parties’ desire to promote and develop these relations to all areas of mutual interest.

Ethiopia is keen to encourage and attract Qatari investments and open the way for businessmen from different sectors to promote joint projects between the two countries that will promote and stimulate the Ethiopian economy.

It also creates positive opportunities for Qatari investors to activate foreign projects with good economic and social returns.

The Ethiopian Investment Forum, organized by the Ethiopian Embassy in Doha, opened in January this year to review investment opportunities in Ethiopia and discuss economic and trade cooperation between the private sector in both countries.

During the forum, which included a number of Ethiopian and Qatari entrepreneurs, the Ethiopian side presented investment opportunities to Qatari businessmen in the sectors of agriculture, manufacturing, services, medicines, building materials and others.

Ethiopian-Qatari business forum will also be organized this year.