Addis Ababa, July 13 In a bid to boost Indian business in Ethiopia, a country recording strong economic growth, making rapid strides in eradicating poverty and becoming self-sufficient in food, a delegation from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will visit Addis Ababa July 14-15 to discuss multi-sector projects.
The 14-member delegation including Karthikeyan B., resident representative of ExIm Bank of India, Subramanian Venkataraman, country head and CEO of State Bank of India, and E.B. Rajesh, international regional director of Africa, Gulf and Middle East, of CII among others will visit the Ethiopian capital.
According to the programme, the delegates will meet higher officials and business partners, including the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association (AACCSA) and the Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Association (AACCSA) for business to business engagement with Ethiopian businesses.
In addition, they will meet officials from the Ethiopian Investment Agency (EIA) and discuss about various investment opportunities and the areas Indian companies could play. Meetings with the Minister of Ethiopian Agriculture Investment and Land (EAIL), Ministry of Industry (MoI) and Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWE), India Business Forum (IBF), and interactions with Ethiopian CEOs, among other planned programmes.
“This visit is aimed at opening up new opportunities and figure out which areas Indian companies could deepen their presence,” Vijayakumar K., first secretary and head of chancery at the Indian embassy Addis Ababa, told IANS.
“In addition it will also promote strong industrial relationships between the two countries and boost economic opportunities”.
Ethiopia was one of the countries that benefited from the 10th CII EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnership organized March 9-11 this year under the theme “Accelerating Economic Growth through Innovation, Transformation, Inclusion and Governance”.
It was at this conclave that ExIm Bank of India extended more than $1 billion lines of credit (LoC) for the construction of sugar and power industries and rail networks to support the clear policy that the government of Ethiopia has to be a middle income country by 2023-25.
