Ethiopia Business Body Eyes Deeper Ties With Egypt Businessmen

A major Ethiopian business body has called for bolstering trade and business relations with Egyptian businessmen.



"It will be easy to further strengthen the existing business ties because we have very close natural and historical bondages," Melaku Johar, trade and investment director with the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, told Anadolu Agency on Friday.



"So far, the flow of investment looks like a one-way traffic because Egyptian companies are undertaking investment projects in Ethiopia and Ethiopians have not yet invested in Egypt," he said.



According to the Ethiopian Investment Agency, Egyptian companies are running 23 investment projects worth over $52.7 million in Ethiopia.



Most of the projects are in the manufacturing sector and have created over 4100 jobs in the Horn of Africa country.



Johar said the availability of rich natural resources and the drafting of a sound investment policy would help attract more investments into Ethiopia.



The Ethiopian official said that a 50-member Egyptian business delegation is expected to hold talks with Ethiopian business community on Sunday in capital Addis Ababa.



"The discussion is organized on the sidelines of Ethio-Egypt Joint Ministerial Council meeting," Johar said.



Relations between Addis Ababa and Cairo soured last year over the former's construction of a $6.4-billion hydroelectric dam on the Blue Nile.



The project has raised alarm bells in Egypt, which relies on the river for almost all of its water needs.



Ethiopia says the project won't impact Egypt's traditional share of Nile water, which has long been determined by a colonial-era water-sharing treaty that Addis Ababa has never recognized.



By Abebech Tamene



englishnews@aa.com.tr



www.aa.com.tr/en - Addis Ababa