The Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Ethiopia, together with the Center for the Development of Trade Policy “QazTrade” of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Export Insurance Company “KazakhExport”, the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a seminar on: “Trade and investment promotion between Kazakhstan and Ethiopia”, El.kz cites MFA.
The event, held in a hybrid format, was attended by representatives of the business circles of Addis Ababa, interested in the supply of Kazakh goods to the market of Ethiopia and other African countries, as well as in the development of bilateral trade and exports of Ethiopian products.
In his speech, the Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan Barlybay Sadykov acquainted the seminar participants with the course of economic reforms of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, conducted in the country in the context of creating a new, fair and inclusive Kazakhstan, based on the principles of socio-economic justice, intolerance to corruption, fair and equitable competition and efficient allocation of resources.
Deputy Secretary General of the Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Industry Associations Zekarias Assefa noted the great potential for increasing mutual trade between Ethiopia and Kazakhstan.
“With a population of more than 120 million people, Ethiopia is the largest market among the countries of East Africa, and an aviation transit hub on the African continent, with convenient access to the market of the East African Community. We expect an increase in trade turnover with Kazakhstan,” - the representative of AACCIA said.
Galym Nurgazinov, Director of the Project Development Department of JSC Center for Development of Trade Policy “QazTrade”, and Armana Bekbasova, Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Export Insurance Company “KazakhExport”, made a presentation on the trade, economic and investment potential of Kazakhstan at the seminar.
The information presented by the Kazakh participants aroused great interest among businessmen of Ethiopia, who made proposals for the development of cooperation with Kazakhstan, establishing direct contacts with businessmen of our country, creating joint ventures, and asked practical questions concerning doing business with Kazakhstan.
According to Tadesse Sisay, Managing Director of the “Sendros” trading company, today it is necessary to solve the main barrier in trade - logistics issues.
“We learned today that Kazakhstan has significant trade opportunities. Your products may be in great demand in the Ethiopian market. In my opinion, the main task is to build logistics routes for the mutual supply of goods,” - Sisay said.
Ermeyas Asfaw, General Manager of “Edcon” PLC, spoke about his plans for cooperation with Kazakhstan.
“Our company is interested in importing plastic and other petrochemical products from your country. These goods are in great demand in Ethiopia and we hope to find reliable partners in your country,” - he said.
In general, the experts confirmed significant opportunities for the growth of mutual trade between Kazakhstan and Ethiopia, and also decided to work closely to eliminate such barriers as the lack of direct communications to support trade, the lack of information about differences in technical standards, permits and accompanying documents, the development and proposal of mutually beneficial logistics routes for the supply of goods.
The seminar participants expressed interest in working together in these areas. In this regard, the parties will assist in organizing meetings and finding partners to increase bilateral trade.