The official visit of Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (Sheikh), president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), casts a fortuitous horizon for a country engulfed by clouds of an austere budget and a political upheaval shaking its economic foundation.
His arrival in 2019 has brought with it gracious funding of three billion dollars and investment from the middle eastern country while Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) took it upon himself to personally chaperon in and chauffer him.
While the amount of monetary assistance since remains unrevealed, echoes of a similar tone of impending liquidity and hope for making ambitious projects appear at the cusp of realisation. Last week, the two countries have agreed to elevate their relationship to "a strategic partnership" as part of the 17 bilateral agreements signed between their ministries as well as UAE-based companies and state-owned Ethiopian enterprises. Central Bank Governor Mamo Mehretu inked a deal with the head of UAE's Standards for Good Delivery of Gold and DP World Chief is cosying up to Transport & Logistics Minister Alemu Sime (PhD).
According to UAE's Ambassador to Ethiopia, Mohammed Salem Al Rashidi, Emirate companies have undertaken 113 investment projects in Ethiopia, and the volume of trade exchange between the two countries amounted to six billion dollars during the year.
Along with the generous assistance towards the construction of the Unity Park, Mohamed Bin Zayed's presence may nourish the parched coffers of the federal treasury with much-needed fluidity.
PUBLISHED ON
Aug 19,2023 [ VOL
24 , NO
1216]
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