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Ambasciata d’Italia ad Addis Abeba

SERVIZIO NEWS

10-11.03.2015

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Contents

ETHIOPIA ............................................................................................................................................ 3

Padiglione italiano alle prossime fiere agrex e hotelshow di Addis Abeba...................................3

Ethiopia Beats Coffee Export Target With Higher Than Planned Revenue ...................................4

Ethiopia Will Build The First Electric Cars In Africa ........................................................................6

Corporation Constructs, Repairs Over 7, 800 Km Of Roads ...........................................................7

Enterprise Considers Building Secondary Airport For General Aviation........................................8

Ethiopia: Kessem Irrigation Project Started Operation .............................................................. 11

Turkey's Industrial Boom: Lessons For Ethiopia.......................................................................... 12

City Has Allocated 8 Bln Birr For This Year Housing Dev't Project: Report ............................... 15

Ethiopia: Inflation Rose To 8.2 Percent In February................................................................... 16

SOUTH SUDAN

Security Council Delegation To Discuss S. Sudan And African Issues In Ethiopia .................... 17

DJIBOUTI

Djibouti Bank Opens Office In Ethiopia ........................................................................................ 18

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ETHIOPIA

PADIGLIONE ITALIANO ALLE PROSSIME FIERE AGREX E HOTELSHOW DI ADDIS

ABEBA

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ETHIOPIA BEATS COFFEE EXPORT TARGET WITH HIGHER THA N PLANNED

REVENUE

The half fiscal year of

2014/15 saw a success in

terms of achievement in

the export of coffee,

according to Addis Fortune.

The country's plan for the

first six months of the

budget year was to export

73,593.5tn of coffee and

gain an income of 269

million dollars. The actual

export was 73,227.9tn,

from which a higher than

targeted revenue of 307.5

million dollars was gained.

(11.03.2015 – WIC)

"The gain from the export

exceeds the plan because the

international coffee price was

better in the export period,"

said Getahun Bikora, coffee

marketing director at the

Ministry of Trade (MoT).

This year's plan of the Ministry

is to export 235,950tn of coffee

to gain 862.5 million dollars.

"The new coffee is yet to come

to the market and it will

increase the volume of the

coffee that we export," said

Getahun.

At the beginning of the fiscal

year 2014/15, Ethiopia, which

supplies less than five percent

of the world's coffee, was said

to benefit from the plague on

the Brazilian coffee. The

production of Brazil's coffee

was said to decrease

significantly although it only

decreased by five percent.

"We did not benefit from the

coffee market as we expected

when we heard of the Brazilian

coffee issue although we have

achieved our target," Getahun

said.

The performance of the coffee

that is exported according to

the plan is 99.5pc and the

income performance shows a

performance of 114.3pc. The

seventh month export of coffee

was planned to be 90,483tn

while 79,365tn of coffee was

exported, showing 88pc

performance. The gain from

the seventh month export was

planned to be 330 million

dollars while the amount

gained was 339.4 million

dollars, which is 102pc of the

planned performance.

In the three weeks of the

eighth month, 9,120tn was

exported, bringing in an

income of 42 million dollars.

Ethiopia expects to produce

461,620tns of coffee this year,

of which it expects to export

239,950tns for 862.55 million

dollars, showing an increase of

23.6pc in volume and 20pc in

revenue from the previous

year.

In 2013/14, the country

planned to export up to

277,500tn but has done only

190,876tn with the planned

revenue falling down from the

planned one billion dollars to

only 717 million dollars.

The international price of

coffee has been declining since

mid January. The international

market price of coffee on

February 3, 2015, per pound

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was 163.6 American cents and

it dramatically fell down to

137.6 American cents per

pound on March 3, 2015.

"The major thing we should do

is to make the price of the

Ethiopian Commodity Exchange

(ECX) line up with that of the

international market and craft a

subsidizing policy to increase

the amount of export," said

Getahun.

The international coffee price is

yet expected to fall well up to

120 American cents a pound,

which the Ministry sees as a

future challenge in the coffee

market as the international

coffee market does not depend

on fundamental issues of

demand and supply but rather

on the technical issues that

govern the market. These

issues could be political or

such.

Ethiopia stands fifth in the

world with a production of

379,500tn a year, having the

world's supply share of 4.5pc in

2012/13. Out of this, the

amount Ethiopia exported was

3,134 bags, which amounts to

47.5pc (180,262tn) of the total

production.

The other top producers of the

world are Brazil with 34.46pc

share of the total coffee with

three million tones of

production.

Next comes Indonesia with

8.75pc share having 0.76

million tonnes, followed by

Vietnam and Columbia having

the world's share of 7.99 and

7.17pc with 0.69 million tonnes

and 0.62 million ton as the

International Coffee

Organization (ICO) data

indicates.

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ETHIOPIA WILL BUILD THE FIRST ELECTRIC CARS IN AFRICA

Ethiopia will build the first

electric cars in AfricaGlobal

Electric Transportation an

American company will

start making electric cars in

Ethiopia in September 2015

Global Electric

Transportation (GET) a

cutting adage American

company will start the

project in September 2015

according the CEO of the

company Ken Monter. Once

the factory is finished it will

produce just about 4000

electric cars a month he

added.

(10.03.2015 - Tigray

Online)

The US Ambassador to

Ethiopia, Patricia M. Haslach

and the chief executive officer

of Global Electric

Transportation of the US, Ken

Monter had discussed the

project with the Ethiopian

President Teshome Mulatu.

Patricia M. Haslach said the

United States was expanding

its strong relationship with

Ethiopia not only in the sectors

of peace and security, but also

in the economic sphere. The

electric car plant is part of this

initiative by the US, she added.

The carbon free cars will help

with the enviroment and the

safty of the users.

Ethiopia is one of the fastest

growing economies in the

world and the Ethiopian

government is making sure the

growth does not come at the

cost of environmental cost to

the people of the giant country

in the Horn of Africa. It is to be

recalled Ethiopia is the leading

country in wind energy in

Africa having completed two

big wind farm projects in the

past few years. The ever

expanding green Ethiopian

economy has attracted some

big international companies.

The electric cars assembly

plant will create many jobs and

transfer of technology in

Ethiopia. As the whole world of

manufacturing is desperately

moving from the traditional

polluting way of making things

Ethiopia is strategically placing

it’self to be in the for front

leading Africa.

Ethiopia with about 92 million

people, a stable government

and an economy growing about

11% a year is very attractive to

investors.

The Ethiopian government

should encourage domestic and

international investors to invest

in the next level

manufacturing, which would

include manufacturing of

motors, industrial machinery,

and research & development.

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CORPORATION CONSTRUCTS, REPAIRS OVER 7, 800 KM OF ROADS

The Ethiopian Road

Construction Corporation

(ERCC) said it has built and

renovated 7, 819 km of

road at a cost of 1 billion

birr during the past seven

months.

(10.03.2015 – WIC)

ERCC Public Relations Head,

Demeke Chane, told WIC today

that the roads built and

repaired across the nation by

the corporation have a

significant contribution for the

economic growth of the

country.

Shekosh-Kebridehar,

Kebridehar-Denan, Denan-

Gode, Gambella-Itang-Jikawo,

Wezka-Gidole, Beseka-Baipas

are among the road projects

executed by the corporation in

the reported period, he pointed

out.

The authority has set a plan to

build and repair more than

2,900 km road in the remaining

months of this budget year, he

said.

Ethiopian Road Construction

Corporation (ERCC) is a new

government development

agency established under the

Ethiopian Roads Authority

(ERA), it was noted.

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ENTERPRISE CONSIDERS BUILDING SECONDARY AIRPORT FOR GENERAL

AVIATION

The Ethiopian Airports

Enterprise is considering

the construction of a

secondary airport in Addis

Ababa that will serve

private airlines operating

light aircraft.

(07.03.2015 – The

Reporter)

At a consultative meeting

organized by the Ethiopian Civ il

Aviation Authority (ECAA) and

the Ethiopian Airports

Enterprise (EAE) on Thursday

CEO of EAE, Tewodros Dawit,

told participants that the

government seriously

considered the repeated

request made by private

airlines for the construction of

a secondary airport that will

serve the general aviation

(private airlines operating non

scheduled flights). Tewodros

presented two alternatives to

construct a separate run way

and terminal at the Addis

Ababa Bole International

Airport and building another

new small airport in the

outskirts of Addis Ababa.

“We are going to conduct a

study on these alternatives.

There is also the opportunity to

use underutilized airports in the

regions. However, the market

for general aviation is in Addis

Ababa,” Tewodros told owners

and managers of private

airlines at the ECAA Training

Center.

According to Tewodros, since

airport construction requires a

huge sum of money the real

demand of the private airlines

and their capacity should be

thoroughly assessed. “We

could develop unutilized land in

south of the premise of the

airport or build a small airport

in the outskirt of Addis Ababa.

We are studying these

alternatives,” he told the

stakeholders.

Private airlines have been

voicing a number of complaints

to the ECAA and EAE. A

construction of a secondary

airport in Addis Ababa for the

general aviation (that operate

non scheduled flights) is one of

the long list of demands that

the private airlines presented

to the government.

The Addis Ababa Bole

International Airport has only

one run way and it is being

congested by scheduled flights.

The airport accommodates

more than 150 flights daily.

There are 15 registered private

airlines in Ethiopia but only six

of them are active. The private

airlines provide charter flight

services with light aircraft.

These small private airlines are

facing a problem is sharing the

sole runway at the airport with

giant jetliners such as B787

and B777. Even the national

carrier, Ethiopian Airlines,

partially moved its flight

training center to Dire Dawa

and Debre Zeit due to the

congestion.

It now seems that the

government seriously took this

and other complaints lodged by

private airlines. ECAA regularly

organizes consultative meeting

with stakeholders and solves

most of the problems raised by

private airlines. The EAE, too,

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is responding to requests made

by private airlines. Beyond the

two organizations higher

government officials began

listening to the woes of private

airlines. For the first time the

Minister of Transport, Workneh

Gebeyehu, met and discussed

various issues with

representatives of private

airlines, fuel companies and

other stakeholders.

The unavailability of counters

at the passenger terminal,

space for the construction of

aircraft maintenance hangar,

scarcity of offices at the airport

for rent, runway congestion,

fuel supply, aircraft seat

limitation, customs and

immigration issues are some of

the major issues raised during

the meeting with the Transport

Minister. The private airlines

demanded that the

government should urgently

enact the long overdue national

air transport policy. Workneh

told executives of the private

airlines that they need to

establish an association. ECAA

and EAE held a follow up

meeting with stakeholders on

Thursday.

Wossenyeleh Hunegnaw (Col.),

Director General of ECAA, said

that the government is giv ing

due attention to the general

aviation. He said that the

Minister of Transport ordered

all the relevant organizations to

address the issues raised by

private airlines. He explained

the progress made after the

meeting with the minister.

According to Wossenyeleh, the

draft national air transport

policy will soon be presented to

stakeholders for discussion. “It

took a prolonged time but now

I think it is time to enact it.

The policy will address most of

your concerns,” he said.

Wossenyeleh assured

executives of the private

airlines that most of the

problems the private airlines

raised during the meeting with

the minister will be addressed.

In the course of the meeting

representatives of private

airlines raised some issues.

Limitations imposed on the age

of aircraft and pilots were of

the issues raised. The ECAA

restricts local airlines not to

import aircraft with an age of

older than 22 years. Pilots

older than 25 years cannot fly

aircraft in Ethiopia.

Wossenyeleh said this was

done to ensure safety. “But we

can still review this. There is a

room for discussion. We did

this in accordance with the

regulations of the International

Civ il Aviation Organization.”

Managing Director of

Abyssinian Flight Service,

Solomon Gizaw (Capt.), said

that the limitation on aircraft

age is applicable only on local

airlines. Solomon said foreign

operators are free to deploy

ageing aircraft in Ethiopia while

local airlines are obliged to

operate only new aircraft. “This

favors foreign operators and

creates an uneven playing

field. This is injustice,”

Solomon said.

Wossenyeleh accepted the

request made by Solomon.

“This is a valid and acceptable

point. We will take note and

address the issue,” he assured

the participants.

CEO and owner of National

Airways, one of the thriv ing

private airlines, Abera Lemi

(Capt.), said that the

government should provide

support to private airlines. He

said if the government wants

the general aviation to grow it

should support private airlines.

“The government is saying that

we need to build our capacity.

How can we build our capacity

without the support of the

government?” Abera inquires.

“We do not have maintenance

hangar and we maintain our

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aircraft under scorching sun

and rain. Customers who come

to audit us tell us that we are

far below the required

standard,” he lamented.

Tewodros said that aviation

was not considered as an

engine of growth. “The

government focused on other

poverty reduction programs

and gave little attention to the

aviation sector. But this has

now changed.” According to

Tewodros, the general aviation

in Ethiopia contributes less

than one percent to the

country ’s GDP. However, he

said, the sector is growing in

recent years and there is

untapped potential adding that

the government is committed

to assist. “The economy is

growing fast and so is the

demand for air travel. The

government has shown a firm

commitment to assist the

aviation sector.” According to

Tewodros, the demand for air

travel is growing at a rate of

20-25 percent every year.

Dawit said that space for

maintenance hangar

construction will soon be

allotted for private airlines

adding that the ongoing

expansion work on the

passenger terminal will

mitigate problems related to

counter, conveyer and office

space. “We will have additional

100 counters when the

expansion work is completed.

We can dedicate 20 counters

for private airlines,” he said. He

reckoned that the enterprise

allotted a ramp dedicated to

the general aviation.

To cope with the growing

aviation industry in Ethiopia,

particularly the fast growth of

Ethiopian Airlines, EAE is

building new airports and

expanding the existing ones.

The enterprise is expanding the

Addis Ababa Bole International

Airport at a cost of 250 million

dollars and is in the process to

build a multibillion dollar mega

hub out of Addis Ababa.

During the meeting a

representative of Total Ethiopia

raised safety issue at the Addis

Ababa Bole International

Airport. Marc De Lataillade,

Managing Director of Total

Ethiopia, said that there is a

safety concern at the airport in

relation to movement of cars

within the airport. “We need to

work together with the

Ethiopian Airports Enterprise

and Ethiopian Airlines on this

issue,” Lataillade said. He also

mentioned that the access road

to the aviation fuel depot is in

a poor condition. According to

him, the access road should be

rehabilitated.

Some participants of the

meeting said that erratic

movements of cars often cause

collisions of cars and cars

against planes. Officials of both

EAE and ECAA admitted the

problem and vowed to address

the issue in collaboration with

all stakeholders.

Total Ethiopia started supply ing

aviation fuel in Ethiopia in 1998

and currently has 29 percent

market share. Oil Libya and

National Oil Company (NOC)

are the leading aviation fuel

suppliers with 40 and 31

percent market shares.

Representatives of the private

airlines acknowledged the

efforts made by ECAA, EAE and

the Ministry of Transport to

mitigate the hurdles facing

general aviation in Ethiopia.

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ETHIOPIA: KESSEM IRRIGATION PROJECT STARTED OPERATION

Kessem irrigation project

which consumed 2.6 billion

Birr and constructed by

Water Works Construction

is 99 percent completed

and has started giving

service. This was disclosed

by the resident engineer of

the project Jegsa Deyisa.

(10.03.2015 – 2Merkato)

The dam is built on the

tributaries of the Awash River

and it took 10 years. Upon

completion the dam will have a

capacity of storing 500 million

meter cubic water.

Thus far a total of 5,000

hectares of land has been

cultivated with sugar cane

using the dam. Nonetheless,

this figure is expected to rise to

20,000 hectares by June.

According to Fana Broadcasting

Corporate, the project took 10

years due to due to harshness

of the environment and a rise

in financing the project.

Main gate and fencing work of

the dam will be done this fiscal

year in order to complete the

project.

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TURKEY'S INDUSTRIAL BOOM: LESSONS FOR ETHIOPIA

Ayka Addis, Oyap Ethio

Industry and Trading,

Saygin Dima PLC, BMET

Cables and MNS Textile are

notable Turkish companies

that are engaged in the

manufacturing sector here

in Ethiopia.

(07.03.2015 – The

Reporter)

Turkish Foreign Direct

Investment (FDI) to Ethiopia is

leading the group of emerging

economies that have shown

interest in investment

opportunities here. Although

the Chinese lead in terms of

number of companies that

have invested in the country,

the Turks lead in combined

capital outlay, according to the

Ethiopian Investment

Commission (EIC).

The combined capital

investment by the Turks is just

shy of 20 billion birr,

constituting 22.5 percent of the

overall outlay. The EIC believes

that Turkish companies are

number one in the quality of

the investment on account of

having the highest share of

overall capital investments by

FDI in Ethiopia. This is music to

the ears of the Ethiopian

government. And it seems that

that it is just a tip of the

iceberg. In that regard, the

relationship between the two

countries was further cemented

with the recent v isit to Ethiopia

of Turkish President Recep

Tayyip Erdoğan.

Back in 2009, during a v isit to

Turkey, the then President of

the Oromia Regional State,

Abadula Gemeda, is said to

have shared a joke with the

man behind major

constructions in Istanbul: that

he was not leaving Turkey until

a Memorandum of

Understanding was signed

between the two sisterly

countries. Several government

officials, including former

President Girma Woldegioris,

and the late Prime Minister

Meles Zenawi, former Foreign

Minister Seyoum Mesfin, former

Trade and Industry Minister

Girma Birru, former Ethiopian

Ambassador to Turkey and

current President of Ethiopia

Mulatu Teshome (PhD) and

other government officials have

met and talked with him.

Enthusiasm was high among

the officials that the then

foreign minister, Seyoum

Mesfin, even called it “The

mother of all investments.” The

talisman behind the colossal

project, Yusuf Akgün, Chairman

of Akgun Construction, said:

“They won our hearts.”

Akgün is at the helm of a

company that already runs a

major investment zone in

Turkey. The company deals

with and specializes in

construction and design

materials with many business

partners from various well-

known brands in the European

Union. Its network extends to

countries such as Germany,

France, Austria, Belgium, Italy

and South Korea.

Akgün is also the owner and

chairman of Ik itelli Organized

Industrial Zone, extending over

some 1000 hectares of land

and composed of 37 industrial

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cooperatives and 30,000

workplaces. It is the biggest

industrial center in Turkey in

terms of manufacturing

capacity and number of hosted

workplaces.

That is what Akgün is planing

to have here in Ethiopia. Akgün

Group signed an agreement

with the Ethiopian government

in 2009 that enables it to

develop an international

industrial zone in the Oromia

Regional State near Legetafo.

Akgün initially secured 100

hectares of land from the

regional state, which would be

eventually extended in the

future once the project gets

moving. The total cost of the

project is estimated at 10

billion dollars and is projected

to employ one million people.

The company has started some

initial work and is conducting a

soil test and planning to start

construction in the near future.

Machineries and equipment are

on their way to Ethiopia.

However, the initial

construction site is found in the

catchment area of the

Legedadi dam which supplies

clean drinking water to 50

percent of the over three

million Addis Ababa residents.

This predicament has stalled

the progress of the

construction of the Ethio-

Turkish Organized Industrial

Zone.

Foreign exchange earner

True to form, the Turks are

adept at construction and at

managing industrial zones,

which is one of the major

revenue generators of the

transcontinental country which

links Europe and Asia. “Last

year, we were the second top

taxpayer in Turkey,” Mustafa

Topçuoğlu, President of

Demirciler Sanayi Sitesi, told

The Reporter. In addition, the

industries are foreign exchange

earners. “Out of 500

enterprises, 200 export their

products to foreign countries,”

Topçuoğlu said.

Turkey is one of the economic

giants in the region. With a

GDP of USD 1.5 trillion (PPP),

according to the CIA World

Factbook, in 2013, the export

earning of the transcontinental

country was a whopping USD

167 billion. Major exports

include apparel, foodstuffs,

textiles, machineries and

transport equipment.

Technoparks: R&D

Turkey strongly supports

Research and Development

(R&D) and innovation-related

investments through its

comprehensive investment-

incentive regime. Aiming to

become a high-tech

manufacturing and export base

in the next 10 years, Turkey

will heavily rely on its

technology parks which are fast

increasing in number and

populated by the country ’s

v isionary entrepreneurs and

talented workforce.

“Technology development and

innovation in technoparks will

bring an export revenue of USD

10 billion by the year 2023,”

Turkey’s Minister of Science,

Industry and Technology, Nihat

Ergun, said back in 2013. “The

target is to double the number

of technoparks in Turkey and

increase their exports 10-fold.

Anything less will not be

considered a success,” Ergun

noted. Technoparks in Turkey

have come a long way in the

last decade, from only tow in

2013 to dozens of active

technoparks today.

“If you are an organized

industrial zone, then you have

to have a technopark. There is

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no industrial site apart from

this which has been successful

on this issue. We established a

technopack after reaching an

agreement with Yildiz Technical

University about a year ago,”

Topçuoğlu said. In that regard,

the enterprises that work on

R&D in the technoparks will be

exempted from tax for 10

years, according to Topçuoğlu.

Currently, one research that is

being conducted at the Yildiz

Technical University technopark

is on an Unmanned Ariel

Vehicle (UAV) called the Heron.

It is a medium-altitude long-

endurance unmanned aerial

vehicle. Turkey operates a

special variant of the Heron,

which utilizes Turkish- designed

and manufactured electro-

optical sub-systems. For

example, the Turkish Herons

use the ASELFLIR-300T

airborne thermal imaging and

targeting system. The Turkish

Herons also have stronger

engines in order to compensate

for the added payload created

by the heavier ASELFLIR-300T.

Focusing on the next

generation

There are more that 5000

engineers and scientists

currently working at the Yildiz

Technical University technopark

and at least 75,000 people are

now working in technoparks in

different parts of Turkey with

their main focus being on R&D.

For instance, Yildiz Technical

University technopark gives

due attention to the aerospace

industry. “We develop solutions

for airlines and software in

aircraft maintenance. We have

a very niche market. Major

airlines are our main

customers. There is only one

technopark, which is focused

on this area in Turkey and not

more than ten in the world,” an

engineer at the technopark

said.

The technopark hires new

graduates in addition to giv ing

them on-the-job trainings.

They also have summer

internship programs for

university students. “They

come to us to work for one or

two months. During their stay

with us they learn about the

industry and if we find a good

potential student we will hire

them up on their graduation,”

the engineer told The Reporter.

This and other schemes are

what Akgün and co have in

store for Ethiopia. And to

realize the project they have

aggressively promoted the

Ethio-Turkish International

Industrial Zone project in

Turkey, Germany, the US, the

UAE and Japan. The industrial

magnet, Akgün, is confident

that his company will soon

embark on the largest

industrial zone development

project in Africa which is

backed by both the Ethiopian

and Turkish governments. “We

just need them [government

officials] to give us a sovereign

guarantee that there would not

be further problem,” Akgün

said.

15

CITY HAS ALLOCATED 8 BLN BIRR FOR THIS YEAR HOUSING DEV'T PROJECT:

REPORT

On its 2nd ordinary session

the Addis Ababa City

Administration reported

that positive results are

registered in areas of

housing development,

MSEs, employment

opportunities, road

construction, health sector,

and others.

(10.03.2015 – WIC)

Presenting the Administration

half year performance City

Mayor Diriba Kuma said that as

one of its prime focusing areas,

the Administration has

prepared 640 hectares of land

to build additional condos. As

part of this programme the

Administration has allocated 8

billion Birr for this year housing

development project.

Deriba also said so far the

Administration has constructed

and transferred 105, 000

condos. The report indicated

that, though there are positive

results in the housing

development activ ities, the

problem associated with

contractors, lack of consultants

and others were identified as a

challenge, according to the

report.

Concerning Micro and Small-

scale Enterprises, the Mayor

said that the sector is

becoming the source of income

for thousands of citizens and

serving as a basis for

industrialization.

Within the last six months the

Administration together with

other stake holders have

created job opportunities for

103, 978 citizens out of whom

63,500 are permanent jobs.

In the health sector, the report

indicated that expansion

projects in four hospitals are

being undertaken and 16

health stations are under

construction.

In the area of road

construction and maintenance,

expansion projects have shown

progress during the reporting

period.

The report also indicated that

the road network has increased

from 4,671-kms into 4,801 -

kms and the construction of ne

roads and expansion project

have increased from 17.5 per

cent into 18 per cent.

Regarding the transportation

sector, the City Administration

together with stakeholders is

try ing to address the gaps

reported and registered in

various ways. (EH)

16

ETHIOPIA: INFLATION ROSE TO 8.2 PERCENT IN FEBRUARY

Central Statistics Agency

(CSA) disclosed Ethiopia’s

inflation rate has risen to

8.2 percent in the month of

February. The Agency

attributed this to the

higher prices of food items

such as vegetables, fruits

and meat.

(10.03.2015 – 2Merkato)

The annual inflation during the

month of January was 7.7

percent.

According to CSA food inflation

has risen to 9.6 percent in

February from 7.1 percent,

where it was the previous

month. On the other hand non

– food inflation rate has

dropped to 6.8 percent from

8.2 percent.

Fana Broadcasting Corporate

(FBC) the Federal Government

has managed to lower the

inflation rate to a single digit

during the Growth and

Transformation Plan period.

17

SOUTH SUDA N

SECURITY COUNCIL DELEGATION TO DISCUSS S. SUDAN AND AFRICAN ISSUES

IN ETHIOPIA

A delegation from the

United Nations Security

Council is due to arrive this

week in the Ethiopian

capital, Addis Ababa, to

discuss South Sudan and

other hot crises in the

continent with the African

Union officials.

(11.03.2015 – Sudan

Tribune)

The Ethiopian ministry of

foreign affairs said the senior

members of the UN Security

Council will hold joint

consultations with the African

Union Peace and Security

Council.

During the one-day visit in

Addis Ababa, the members of

the Council will meet AU

Commissioner for Peace and

Security, Ismael Chergui.

They will be updated on the

current situations in Africa and

thereby will hold deep

discussions on peace and

security of the continent.

The visiting UNSC delegation

which will arrive on Thursday

will discuss the crisis in South

Sudan as peace negotiations

between rival factions aimed to

reach a final peace deal

collapsed last Friday.

President Salva Kiir and rebel

leader, Riek Machar, missed

March 6 deadline set by

regional mediators to strike a

comprehensive peace

agreement to end over nearly

15-month conflict which k illed

tens of thousands and

displaced an some two million

people.

The UN Security Council earlier

last week unanimously adopted

a resolution to impose

sanctions on the two South

Sudanese warring factions. It is

also expected to discuss the

matter again soon.

A sanctions committee is set to

submit to the 15-member body

a list of names that are

responsible for hindering the

peace process.

The sanctions which also are

expected to target leaders of

the conflicting parties include

travel bans and assets freeze.

The threat a terrorist group in

Nigeria, Boko Haram, and ways

of combating it will also be

among the issues the

delegation will discuss with the

regional body.

African leaders have recently

agreed to send 7,500 troops to

Nigeria to battle Boko Haram

as a continental move to curb

growing terrorism threats.

Other issues expected to be

addressed in the joint

discussion are the capacity

development for programs of

peace and security and

peacekeeping mission

discussions.

The members of the delegation

are expected to include the

French representatives to the

UN Francois Delattre, US

ambassador to the United

Nations Samantha Power, and

the British deputy head of the

British mission to the UN, Peter

Wilson.

The high level v isit is part of

the Security Council’s planned

five-day tour in three African

countries, the Central African

Republic, Ethiopia and Burundi.

18

DJIBOUTI.

DJIBOUTI BA NK OPENS OFFICE IN ETHIOPIA

Red Sea Trade & Industry

Bank (BCIMR) of Djibouti

opened a representative

office in Addis Abeba on

February 26, 2015, which

was marked with an

inauguration at the

Sheraton Addis Hotel in the

presence of Jean Pierre

Gianotti, the Bank's

director general.

(01.03.2015 – WIC)

BCIMR is a subsidiary of Bred

Banque Populaire Group (BPCE

group). The French banking

group bought BCIMR from BNP

Paribas in July 2007. BPCE

owns 51pc of the bank

whereas the Djibouti

government has 33pc of the

share and the remaining 16pc

is owned by Yemeni bank.

The Bank says in its website

that it operates in all market

segments such as personal,

business, public sector and

institutional, mainly in Djibouti,

Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea,

Sudan, Yemen, and UAE.

BCIMR offers its customers

loans and financing, deposit

and cash management,

payment, trade finance, local

and international guarantees.

Specializing in Trade Finance,

the BCIMR offers a wide range

of services to banks that cover

all banking operations related

to the treatment of flows in

relation to international trade,

according to its website.

The Bank gives services such

as foreign exchange

transactions, Letter of Credit

(L/C), international guarantees,

transfers and receptions of

multi-funds (SWIFT, cheque,

etc.). Currently, most of the

private banks in Ethiopia are

clients of BCIMR, according to

Ahmed.

Ahmed Abdou Mohsein, the

office representative in

Ethiopia, says that most of the

banks in Ethiopia have a

correspondent banking relation

with BCIMR.

Among these banks are

Abyssinia, Awash, Dashen and

Wegagen. The representative

office will help to communicate

and manage delays and

documents easily and quickly,

said Atakilt Admasu,

International Banking Director

at Wegagen.

Furthermore, the office will

also provide information and

facilitate investment

opportunities in Ethiopia for

Djibouti investors as it

advances its presence in

Ethiopia, said Ahmed.

It took around three weeks to

furnish and open the

representative office, which is

located along Africa Avenue in

front DH-GEDA Tower, said

Ahmed, who makes all the staff

of the office together with a

secretary. The office received

its trade license in January

2015 from the Ministry of

Trade.

The representative office will

help its clients to save their

time and money, stated

Ahmed. The Addis Ababa

representative office will serve

as an intermediate office where

19

clients can communicate with

the Bank without leaving the

country, he explained.

The BCIMR represents an

average of 60pc market share

in Djibouti in terms of deposits

and loans and 85% of signed

commitments.

It has funded large regional

projects such as the electrical

interconnection between

Djibouti and Ethiopia in

collaboration with the French

Development Agency.