India-Ethiopia JTC deliberations in Addis Ababa were cordial, says Ministry
Indian trade delegation has urged their Ethiopian counterparts to explore the possibility of settlement of trade transactions in local currencies which will help boost bilateral trade and conserve foreign exchange.
The Indian side has also called for collaboration on the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) of India with Ethswitch of Ethiopia.
These were the highpoints at the 6th Session of India-Ethiopia Joint Trade Committee (JTC) which was held in Addis Ababa from 6-7 Nov 2023.
The meeting was co-chaired by the Economic Advisor, Department of Commerce Priya P. Nair and the Lead Executive of the International and Regional Trade Integration, Ministry of Trade & Regional Integration, Ethiopia, Tages Mulugeta.
The Indian side also requested the Ethiopian side to expedite the early finalization of the Bilateral Investment Treaty.
Both sides agreed to expeditiously address all issues impeding bilateral trade and facilitate trade promotion between the two countries.
Both sides also reviewed the progress of ongoing discussions for Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) in the field of Standardization & Quality assurance and Customs procedure and agreed to conclude them expeditiously.
The deliberations of the 6th Sessions of India-Ethiopia JTC were cordial and forward-looking, reflecting the traditionally friendly and special relations between the two countries, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said on 8 Nov 2023.
Bilateral trade between India and Ethiopia stood at US$642.59 million in 2022-23. India is the second largest exporter to Ethiopia. Indian companies are among the top three foreign investors in Ethiopia with existing Indian investment of US$5 billion of which, about US$3-4 billion is estimated to be on the ground.
Indian companies have invested in various sectors like agriculture and floriculture, engineering, plastics, manufacturing, cotton and textiles, water management, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.
Both sides undertook a detailed review of recent developments in bilateral trade and investment ties and noted that the relationship has a huge potential to be scaled up even further, the Ministry said.
To this effect, both sides identified several areas of focus for enhancing both bilateral trade as well as mutually beneficial investments. These include health and pharmaceuticals, automobiles, textiles, infrastructure projects, food and agro processing and so on. Fiinews.com
