India, Ethiopia sign agreements on trade, communication

India and Ethiopia on 5 October 2017 signed agreements on trade, communication and media to boost bilateral ties.

The agreements were signed in the presence of President Ram Nath Kovind and his Ethiopian counterpart Mulatu Teshome at the National Palace in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa following detailed discussions on economic relations.

The Indian President graced and addressed the India-Ethiopia Business Dialogue, organised to commemorate the 12th Anniversary of the India Business Forum in Addis Ababa on 5 October 2017. The forum is the first partner-country forum of its kind in Ethiopia and represents more than 100 Indian companies.

Speaking on the occasion, President Kovind said India wanted to strengthen bilateral ties with Ethiopia."We will be working closely to develop trade, investment and people-to-people relations between the two countries," he said.

He added that India will provide a credit line to the tune of USD 95 million to Ethiopia for an electric transmission line. He also announced a grant of USD 2 million for the purchase of food grains and referred to India as among the top three sources of foreign direct investment for Ethiopia.

Besides this, India also thanked Ethiopia for its participation in the International Solar Alliance (ISA), established in 2015. The main objective of the ISA is to provide a dedicated platform for cooperation among solar resource rich countries and promote the use of solar energy.

Further, both the Presidents also oversaw the launch of a book titled 'India- Ethiopia: 70 Years of Diplomatic Relations'.

This is the first time in 40 years that an Indian presidential delegation has visited Ethiopia ever since former President V V Giri's trip in 1972.

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Current Affairs 2017