...
|
|
|
Mr.
Gezahgen Kebede Mr.
Wilson Hunt Mr.
Mohammed Garad EATIC
Trade Delegation Mission to Ethiopia Exceeds
Expectations Recent
Headlines Food Development
Corporation Brings $250 Million Investment To
Ethiopia World Bank
Releases $130 Million Loan, Grant To Ethiopian
Energy Access Project Ethiopia's
Development Programs Said Compatible With NEPAD's
Framework US, Ethiopia
Sign 147.2 Million Birr USAID
Agreement ADB, Ethiopian
Govt Officials Discuss Financing Agricultural
Sector Statistics
Authority Finalizes Census EATIC Trade
Delegation Says Trade Mission to Ethiopia Exceeded
Expectations After a week long
business visit to Ethiopia, 18 members of a high
level American trade delegation sponsored by EATIC
said their recent trade mission to Ethiopia has
exceeded their expectations and was extremely
successful. Speaking to the
Addis Tribune, Gezahgen Kebede founder and
President of the Ethio-American Trade and
Investment Council (EATIC) and Mitchell F. Rice
Professor of Public Administration and Political
Science, George Bush School of Government and
Public Service and delegation leader said, the
visit has made clear for both the government and
the visiting group that working business jointly is
of tremendous value. Gezahgen said that
a number of trade agreements and memoranda of
understanding were signed between the mission and
the government, as well as between the mission and
individual businesses, to further develop the
business relation between Ethiopia and the U.S -
which, according to Gezahgen, will make EATIC a
success story. "It has really exceeded our
expectations and I personally will call this as an
extreme success," he says. Prof. Rice, for
his part, said the mission was successful in two
ways. The first positive point according to him is
to have American companies come to Ethiopia and
spent a week by finding ways and solutions how to
go ahead. "The second positive thing about the
visit is that American businesses have come here
and saw for themselves what kind of business
opportunities exist in Ethiopia," Prof. Rice
said. The visit has also
given both sides an opportunity to look at business
challenges and discuss possible solutions,
according to Gezahgen. He said this does not mean,
however, that everything is perfect and there is
nothing that Ethiopia has to do. "There are a
number of things to be done," Gezahgen
said. For many in the
delegation, the visit also gave them a chance to
discover how important it is to see that a business
cannot be run strictly from a distance, Gezahgen
added. Commenting on the
areas to be improved in order to have a far more
integrated business relation between the two
countries, Gezahgen said issues such as opening the
banking sector for foreigners is of great
importance, and has to be revised again. Prof. Rice also
said there are three areas the government should
give due attention. He said the private sector, the
government community and the higher education
community have to collaborate more to achieve a
truly sustainable economic development. If these
areas are brought into greater harmony and made to
function together more effectively, he added, they
will tremendously boost economic
development. Both Gezahgen and
Prof. Rice urged that this kind of mission should
come to Ethiopia at least once a year. "I would
like to see the Ethiopian government make a much
more formal arrangement with EATIC where this could
be done with greater frequency. If this kind of
initiative takes place at least once in a year with
more coordinated and formal arrangements from both
sides, I think amazing things will happen," Prof.
Rice said. Gezahgen also said
he wants to make EATIC more institutionalized.
Though the government has been (through its Embassy
in Washington) very instrumental in setting up the
trade missions, Gezahgen said there have to be ways
of channelling more funds to the EATIC to be more
organized and institutionalized. About
EATIC The Ethio-American
Trade & Investment Council (EATIC -
www.eatic.org) is a non-profit, non-partisan, tax
exempt membership organization of corporations and
individuals dedicated to strengthening and
facilitating trade and investment between Ethiopia
and the United States of America. The Council
believes that it can best accomplish this goal
through education, focusing on broadening the
respective knowledge of various social customs,
cultural traditions and economic climate of both
countries. Contact
EATIC Ethio-American
Trade & Investment Council 9301 Southwest
Freeway, Suite 250 Houston, Texas
77074 USA Telephone: +1 713
271 7567 Fax: +1 713 772
3858 Email:
info@eatic.org |
|
Reprinted
from the Addis Tribune