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The United Kingdom has significantly reinforced its commitment to boosting Ethiopia’s economic landscape, with Baroness Jane Ramsey of Wall Health, the UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Ethiopia, leading a crucial meeting with H.E. Semereta Sewasew, State Minister at the Ministry of Finance. As one of only 32 global Trade Envoys, Baroness Ramsey expressed her profound honor in her role and her eagerness to cultivate strong ties with Ethiopian partners and investors. The UK is keen to help Ethiopia expand and grow business and investment, aligning its support for Ethiopia’s economic reform efforts with both multilateral and bilateral development initiatives.
Discussions during the meeting centered on Ethiopia’s evolving business environment, with Baroness Ramsey acknowledging notable improvements in the investment climate. H.E. Semereta Sewasew stressed the vital need for regulatory reforms, especially within the banking sector, alongside reforms in foreign exchange and governance, to foster a more open and competitive investment environment.
The UK’s interest in Ethiopia spans several key sectors that are ripe for collaboration and investment. In telecommunications, the UK considers the potential introduction of a third operator to be “very, very important,” recognizing Ethiopia’s vast population and the opportunity to serve up to 200 million users. This development could significantly enhance connectivity across the country.
In the creative industries, a substantial investment of £120 million was discussed, aimed at supporting sustainable creative ventures. The goal is to help these industries expand and thrive, thereby promoting economic diversification and creating new jobs. The agro-industry sector also features prominently in the UK’s investment plans. A notable example is a $300 million project focused on advancing crop production for dairy processing. The discussion highlighted that this initiative is currently assessing its environmental and social impacts and will begin with the development of processing plants in its pre-production phase. The UK is actively investing in this sector, aiming to boost agricultural productivity and add value through processing.
Mining remains another key area, with gold mining specifically identified as a significant sector. This reaffirms the UK’s ongoing commitment to investing and collaborating within Ethiopia’s mining industry. In financial services, the UK expressed strong enthusiasm about engaging with Ethiopia’s newly opened financial sector. Emphasizing the importance of a competitive regulatory framework, particularly within banking, the UK sees great potential for growth and modernization.
Finally, progress was reviewed on major infrastructure projects, including new airports and Ethiopia Electric Power initiatives on the country’s east side. Updates on the approval processes for these projects underscored the ongoing efforts to advance Ethiopia’s infrastructure development.
H.E. Semereta Sewasew acknowledged that these sectors represent vital opportunities for strengthening UK-Ethiopia partnerships, driving economic growth, and fostering sustainable development. Baroness Ramsey reiterated the UK’s unwavering commitment to working closely with the Ethiopian government and stakeholders. She emphasized the importance of unlocking further investment and fostering a strong, mutually beneficial economic partnership, with the UK looking forward to continuing these vital discussions and collaborating on these important initiatives to support Ethiopia’s economic development.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Finance, Ethiopia.