29.12.2023

Ethiopia’s Accession Bid to the World Trade Organisation

Ethiopia and Switzerland hold the 6th Round Joint Political Consultation in Bern

2nd Korea-Africa Trade and Industry Cooperation Forum in Seoul

The Ethiopian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission Mid-TermReview and Business Forum

Joint Statement: Ethiopia-US – 120 Years of Partnership

News in Brief

Africa and the African Union

During a recognition event in Addis Ababa on Thursday (December 28), the African Union provided a one million US dollars grant to the Disarmament, Demobilization and Rehabilitation (DDR) process in Ethiopia. The grant agreement was signed by Commissioner of National Rehabilitation Commission, Ambassador Teshome Toga and Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of the African Union Commission, Bankole Adeoye.

On Tuesday (December 26), United Nations Security Council (UNSC) unanimously adopted a resolution on the financing of African Union-led peace support operations. In an X post, the Secretary General of the UN General Antonio Guterres called the decision a “ground-breaking resolution [which] will help address a critical gap in the international peace and security architecture.”

Ethiopia

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday (December 28) received Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo and his delegation for a discussion on securing peace and stability in the Sudan. It is to be recalled that PM Abiy previously held discussions with the Head of Sudan’s ruling Sovereign Council Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Commander of Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on 15 November 2023 to bring about peace and stability in the Horn of African nation. 

PM Abiy while inaugurating the Chebera Churchura Elephant Paw Lodge on Saturday (December 23) made a clarion call to the People of Ethiopian-origin around the world to 2^nd Generation Homecoming under the motto “Connect to Your Culture.” He extended the Ethiopians in the Diaspora to visit their origin and connect with their roots in three-rounds from 30 December 2023 to the end of September 2024. 

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Monday (December 25) appointed two new state ministers, Dr. Keyredin Tezera and Cheru Geta Genene, for the Ministry of Peace. 

In a social media post on Friday (December 29) Premier Abiy stressed the need for concerted efforts to ensure better productivity results in the current year with respect to the ‘Bounty of the Basket’ (Ye Lemat Tirufat) initiative that aimed at boosting dairy, poultry, egg, honey, fish and meat production.

State Minister of Political and Economic Diplomacy, Ambassador Mesganu Arga, on Wednesday (December 27) conferred with US Ambassador o to Ethiopia, Ervin Jose Massinga on current affairs, bilateral, regional and multilateral issues of mutual concern. They discussed cooperation in education, aviation, trade and people-to-people relations, among other things. They also discussed on the commemoration of the 120th anniversary of the diplomatic relations. A joint statement on the celebrations was released subsequently (See Joint Statement).

The Government of Ethiopia and the African Union signed a grant agreement to support the demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration process on Thursday (December 28) at the Skylight Hotel in Addis Ababa. The grant agreement entails the provision of USD 1 million from the Crisis Reserve Fund of the AU to the National Rehabilitation Commission of Ethiopia to support its efforts in ensuring the full implementation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement.

Somalia

President Hassen Sheikh Mohamud on Wednesday (December 27) hosted a public meeting organised by the Minbar Initiative, whereby the members of the public relay questions to the President on current affairs.

President Sheikh Mohamud on Thursday (December 28) participated in a meeting hosted by his Djiboutian counterpart Ismail Omar Guelleh to discuss the talks between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Somaliland region.

South Sudan

President Salva Kiir, on Saturday (23 December), has signed two instruments of accession passed by the Transitional National Legislative Assembly. The instruments signed are the Instrument of Accession of the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, and the Instrument of Accession of the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

President Kiir, on Friday (22 December), briefed the African Union’s Panel of the Wise (PoW), on the status of implementation of the Peace Agreement. The Government of South Sudan stated that it is working to implement outstanding tasks in order to hold free, fair and credible elections in 2024. A member of the Panel, Domitien Ndayizeye, affirmed that the African Union’s readiness to support South Sudan’s electoral process.

Sudan

Djibouti’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, on Wednesday (27 December), announced the postponement of a meeting scheduled for 28 December 2023 between the Sudanese Army Commander in Chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, to early January 2024 for ‘technical reasons’.

General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo held talks with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in Uganda on Tuesday (26 December) to discuss recent developments in the Sudan. Daglo said that he presented his vision to negotiate, stop the war, and build a new Sudan. He stressed his commitment to the outcomes of the extraordinary meeting of IGAD heads of state and government held in Djibouti on December 9, 2023.

Former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok, Head of the Coordination of Civilian Democratic Forces, called on Monday (25 December) for an immediate meeting with the Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to discuss halting the ongoing conflict. He noted that he sent two formal letters to the leaders of the warring parties requesting an urgent meeting to explore avenues for ending the war.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), on Thursday (28 December), strongly condemned the theft of life-saving food supplies from its premises in Sudan’s Gezira State last weekend. Condemning the theft of food from the hungry, the Executive Director of WFP, Cindy McCain, called on parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law and protect humanitarian assets and staff. WF’s Regional Director for Eastern Africa, Michael Dunford, said Sudanese people have been robbed of the critical assistance they need. He also added that this is intolerable and must stop.

Ethiopia’s Accession Bid to the World Trade Organisation

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international body that was established on 01 January 1995. It succeeded the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). It plays a crucial role in regulating and establishing rules for international trade. Currently, the WTO has 164 members. Out of these, 36 members joined the organization through negotiation, while the remaining 128 countries that were already party to GATT at the end of 1994 automatically became members of the WTO in 1995. 

Becoming a member of the WTO is an intricate task and involves lengthy negotiations. The requirements for joining the WTO have expanded compared to the previous General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and even the early stages of joining the WTO. The process of joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) now extends beyond tariff negotiations. It encompasses various aspects such as subsidies, trade and investment policy adjustments, trading rights, service sectors, and intellectual property rights. When a country seeks to join, it is required to accept all WTO rules and obligations. Additionally, the decision to admit a new member is made by consensus among all existing member countries.

Ethiopia became an observer to the WTO in 1997 and officially applied for membership in this global trade regulatory body in 2003. The initiative of Ethiopia to begin negotiations for accession to the WTO has been welcomed and supported by all Members States. Despite progress made by conducting three Party Meetings in 4 years period until 2012, was put on hold and became inactive for nearly 8 years.

After a stalemate of over 7 years, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced in 2019 that Ethiopia would resume negotiations to join the World Trade Organization (WTO). Based on the decision, Ethiopia has made progress, including submitting a response to members’ fourth round of questions, a revised Goods offer, a Services Schedule of Commitments, a Revised Legislative Action Plan and other required documents requested by members, and successfully conducted its fourth working party meeting in January 2020.  

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other internal challenges, the Fifth round of meeting expected to take place in 2021 has not been achieved although internal preparation continued at the technical level. To facilitate the negotiation process, a new national and technical committee has been established. The committee is responsible for monitoring and working on the intricacies of the accession negotiations. 

Minister of Trade and Regional Integration and Chief Negotiator, Gebremeskel Chala, and State Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Chief Negotiator, Ambassador Mesganu Argawere tasked by the Prime Minister to lead the World Trade Organization (WTO) accession, Regional and Bilateral negotiations. Other key institutions and higher officials were also assigned as members of the re-established Steering Committee. Besides, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Ambassador Rebecca Fisher Lamb, has been appointed as our Working Party Chairperson by the choice of Ethiopia in consultation with members.  

Ethiopia’s negotiation for accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) has been aligned with the country’s development policies, strategies, and economic reform agendas. This demonstrates the careful and attentive approach taken to safeguard Ethiopia’s national interest and maximize the benefits for the nation. 

In this regard, Ethiopia has made ample progress in reforming its investment regime while it is taking concrete actions to improve its business climate. Ethiopia has increasingly and successfully positioned itself as a competitive investment destination over recent years. It has been able to attract a growing investment inflow and larger individual investments. 

While Ethiopia’s commitment to create a favourable investment climate plays a major role in ensuring its global competitiveness, membership to regional and global trade platforms enhances the credibility of our reforms.  The government of Ethiopia sees its WTO accession negotiation as a key tool to consolidate and anchor its economic reform achievements that have been achieved so far and make further progress. In this sense Membership to the WTO must not be seen as an end in itself but as a key element in the pursuit of national development policy objectives.

In addition, membership to a rules-based system will be instrumental in securing predictable and dependable market access for Ethiopia’s exports. The country’s economic relation with the world is too important to be left to a maze of arbitrary, shifting, and unstable preferential arrangements. A rules-based and predictable foreign market access will become more relevant once Ethiopia has achieved its objective to become a middle-income country and its exports will no longer benefit from LDC (Least Developed Countries) preferences. 

Furthermore, membership to the WTO and other regional integration efforts are attuned to continuing Ethiopia’s historic role in being an active player both in the regional and international diplomatic arena. In accordance with the PM Abiy’s vision of ‘a region where minds are open to ideas and markets are open to goods’, the government has taken measures that clearly indicate its commitment towards regional economic integration.

The accession of Ethiopia to the World Trade Organization (WTO) presents numerous opportunities. Being a member will give rights to be treated in Non-discriminatory access to markets of other WTO Members, to influence the formulation of new Trade Rules, which are adopted by consensus; transparency instruments allowing to have access to information on the trade regimes of other Members, access to the WTO Dispute Settlement mechanism for challenging WTO-inconsistent measures of other Members; Technical assistance and capacity-building provided by the WTO Secretariat. 

In terms of benefits associated with WTO’s consistent domestic reforms, market economy, and rule of law, membership will support enhanced capacity for domestic economic coordination and efficiency; faster GDP and trade growth; Greater attractiveness to foreign trade investment (FDI); and Enhanced opportunities to achieve economic diversification and build resilience, including through greater participation in global value chains.

There are also benefits through international cooperation and participation in multilateral rulemaking including enhancing legitimacy, this provides an opportunity for greater economic and trade leadership, both at the regional and multilateral levels. after joining the WTO, Ethiopia will have the chance to contribute to shaping global trade rules at the WTO, actively participate in the ongoing negotiations by submitting negotiating proposals, introduce a topic that is important to us and influence the flow of negotiation processes. 

However, there are challenges to be faced as well, burdensome requests by members not taking into consideration the level of development, and the lengthy and demanding process that requires countries to align their domestic trade policies with the extensive set of WTO rules and regulations including some WTO+ issues to mention a few. The institutional capacity and legal frameworks are needed to meet these stringent requirements. Additionally, there is an asymmetry in negotiating power with existing WTO members. 

In general, the overall cost of exclusion from the WTO outweighs the cost of joining.

During the new Chief negotiator visit to Geneva and discussion with the secretariat, some Member states and development partners, a roadmap prepared jointly with the WTO Secretariat which set a timeline to complete the accession negotiation at the 14th Ministerial Conference expected to take place in Cameroon in 2026.  The first move to achieve this is the fifth working Party Meeting planned to be held in April 2024.

The preparation for the 5^th Working Party Meeting intensified, and recently the Steering Committee approved the Goods offer first revision, Services schedule of commitment first revision, and other important documents submitted by the technical committee with amendments which soon will be sent to the Secretariate after all the necessary adjustments are finalized.      

Through a series of continued working party meetings, the World Party members of Ethiopia’s accession negotiates with Ethiopia on the terms of entry both at the bilateral level on market access for goods and services and multilaterally on commitment on rules.

Over 98% of global trade takes place among members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). With a population of over 120 million, it is crucial for Ethiopia to be a part of this extensive global trading system. Currently, there are 24 countries, including Ethiopia, that are in the process of negotiating their membership with the WTO. Two LDCs, Comoros and Timor Leste at the final stage of their negotiation to become members of WTO in the upcoming 13th Ministerial Conference to be held in Abu Dhabi in February 2024.

Ethiopia and Switzerland hold the 6^th Round Joint Political Consultation in Bern

The 6^th Round Ethio-Switzerland Joint Political Consultation was held on 21 December 2023 in Bern, Switzerland, with the aim of further enhancing the longstanding bilateral relations between the two counties. 

The Ethiopian delegation was led by State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mesganu Arga, while the Swiss delegation was led by Assistant State Secretary, Head of Africa Division at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador, Philipp Stalder. 

The discussions mainly focused on assessing the implementations of agreements between the two countries and exchanging views on contemporary regional and global dynamics of common concern. 

Ambassador Mesganu Arga briefed the Swiss Assistant State Secretary on the current situation in Ethiopia, particularly, on the post war reconstruction, rehabilitation and recovery processes in the areas affected by the conflict in the Northern parts of the country. He also expressed Ethiopia’s appreciation to the Swiss Government for taking a balanced position during Ethiopia’s difficult times due to the Northern conflict. 

The State Minister also urged the Swiss side to continue cooperation in multilateral for including UN Security Council regarding Ethiopia. Switzerland is a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the period 2023-24.

The Swiss head of delegation, Ambassador Philipp acknowledged the importance of Ethiopia as key partner in the Horn.  

The two-side agreed to encourage investment in Ethiopia and enhance the trade exchange. Both sides also agreed to explore other areas of cooperation including education, digitalization, migration, Peace Keeping and sharing experiences in federalism. 

Prior to the commencement of the consultation, State Minister Ambassador Mesganu, conferred with State Secretary of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Alexandor Fasel, regarding bilateral, regional, and global issues of common interest. 

On the sidelines, Ambassador Mesganu held successful talks with International Labour Organisation (ILO) Director General, Gilbert F. Houngbo, Deputy Director General Ambassador, Xiangchen Zhang, Chairperson of the Working Party on WTO Accession of Ethiopia, Ambassador Rebecca Fisher Lamb, and Swiss companies’ representatives.  

Ambassador Mesganu, also visited a high-tech manufacturing company called A Niklaus LNI SA, Industry owned and managed by an Ethiopian-origin CEO, Andenet Ras-Work and had a fruitful discussion with representatives of the Ethiopian diaspora in Switzerland. 

2^nd Korea-Africa Trade and Industry Cooperation Forum in Seoul

The second Korea-Africa Trade and Industry Cooperation Forum, organized by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea, was held in the Capital Seoul on 20 December 2023.

The Cooperation Forum was aimed at bolstering economic ties between South Korea and African nations and providing a platform for African nations to foster trade and investment partnerships. Along with economic collaboration, it was also held to set the stage for the upcoming high-level Korea-Africa Summit.

Higher government officials and representatives of the Republic of Korea, African Ambassadors and CEOs of Korean companies attended the forum. Keynote speeches were delivered by South Korea’s Deputy Minister for Trade, H.E. Byung Nae Yang, President of Daewoo E&C Representative, Baek Jung Wan, and KOPIA’s member companies. Ethiopian Ambassador in Seoul, Ambassador Dessie Dalkie, highlighted the Ethiopian context to the participants. He, among others, outlined the distinctive investment opportunities that Ethiopia has to offer to Korean investors.

The Ambassador also outlined overview of Ethiopia’s current economic situation, priority areas for foreign direct investment, and collaboration opportunities between Ethiopia and South Korea. He further emphasized Ethiopia’s position as the fastest growing economy in sub-Saharan Africa and among the fastest-growing economies in the world.

On the other hand, the envoy urged South Korea to provide more financial and technical support for Ethiopia’s development initiatives and underlined the importance of significantly bolstering trade, investment, and science and technology ties between the two countries.

Ethiopia and Korea are currently celebrating the momentous occasion of the 60^th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations. Over the past six decades, the two nations have cultivated friendship that transcends geographical distances and stands as a testament to their shared values and aspirations. The relationship of the two friendly countries which is rooted in historical bonds and mutual respect has flourished through various avenues of cooperation and solidarity. The profound connection, established during the Korean War, when Ethiopian soldiers stood alongside their Korean brothers and sisters, has evolved into a partnership characterized by shared endeavours in economic development, cultural exchange, and technical cooperation. 

Looking ahead, our two nations envision a future characterized by strengthened ties, deeper cooperation, and enhanced understanding, and firmly stand together with commitment to furthering mutual interests and promoting peace and prosperity for the benefit of our people.

The Ethiopian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission Mid-TermReview and Business Forum

The 8^th Ethiopian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation and Trade Mid-Term Review was held on 19 December 2023 in Addis Ababa. The Mid-Term review was co-chaired by Minister of Innovation and Technology Ethiopia, Dr. Belete Molla, and Head of the Federal Agency for Mineral Resources of the Russia, Dr. Evgeny Petrov.

During the Mid-Term review, both sides exchanged views on the current state of the Ethiopia-Russian engagements in various fields, noting the role of the Commission as an important mechanism for bringing bilateral trade and economic cooperation to a higher level. 

The review segment was primarily focused on unlocking Ethiopia-Russia tremendous economic and technological potentials to realize prosperity for the people of two great nations.   Also, it was aimed to nurture political relations between Ethiopia and Russia to ensure peace and security in both countries and respective regions. The delegations from both sides thoroughly evaluated Ethiopia-Russia bilateral economic. 

Both delegations indicated with great satisfaction, that two countries have achieved tremendous results in developing legal frameworks and agreements to enhance bilateral cooperation.  Based on mutual agreement and understanding reached during the 8^th Joint Commission to develop legal frameworks, more than five agreements have been signed in the year 2023 including, Agreements on Air Service, International Information Security, Joint Biological Research Centre, Customs Cooperation and Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes. Also, wide range of high-level official visits, consultations and inter-sector engagements have been conducted between the two countries.

During the meeting, both sides underlined that despite a very cordial and historical friendship that Ethiopia and the Russian Federation are enjoying, the economic cooperation, particularly trade and investment relations did not to develop to the expected level. Notwithstanding, Ethiopia and Russia have a tremendous potential for trade and investment cooperation. It is high time to convert the vested interests shown from both sides into tangible and practical works to unlock massive opportunities and maximize trade and investment cooperation. The Ethiopian side pointed out that, now it is imperative for both countries, to design and implement Ethiopia-Russia joint practical industrial projects. 

In his address, Dr. Belete said, it is crucial to consider projects in the field of agriculture, specifically building industrial plants of fertilizer, agrochemicals and agricultural machineries in Ethiopia. Also establishing joint metallurgical and metal products industry is very important, he added. The Minister also indicated that it is high time for Ethiopia and Russia to work hand in hand in the energy sector. He said, Ethiopia is open to Russian companies willing to invest in building new power plants including hydro, wind, geothermal, natural gas and solar energy through Public Private Partnership (PPP) schemes. The Minister also called upon Russian companies to invest in agriculture, manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, ICT, exploration and development of mineral resources in Ethiopia.  

The co-chairs also stressed the importance of strengthening financial and banking cooperation between respective banks.

Both delegations expressed their interest in expanding cooperation in the fields of energy, geology and subsoil use, the automotive and chemical industries, healthcare, education and science, ICT and other fields.

Following the conclusion of the 8^th Ethiopian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission Mid-TermReview, delegation from both sides conferred to discuss on ways to enhance investment, trade and business cooperation between Ethiopia and Russia on 20 December 2023 in Addis Ababa. 

At the forum, from the Ethiopian side presented to Russian investors the various investment opportunities in Ethiopia. Policy reforms, incentives for investors and actions being taken to create a favourable investment environment were also discussed. The Deputy Commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission, Daniel Teresa said, the forum will play a key role in showcasing opportunities in Ethiopia with potential investors in Russia in various fields.

 State Minister for Ministry of Innovation and Technology of Ethiopia, H.E Dr. Yeshurun Alemayehu, said that Ethiopia and Russia have a long and historical relationship, and the trade and investment forum is one of the efforts to improve economic cooperation to realize the common vision of the two countries to prosper together for the benefit of people of the two countries. The State Minister stated that the Ethiopian government will provide wide range of incentives to local and foreign investors who assemble or produce machinery, construction materials, spare parts, inputs for industries.  He also explained that Ethiopia has favourable conditions for Russian investors who want to engage in private and joint ventures in agriculture and agro-processing, textiles and clothing, leather and leather products, vegetables and fruits, pharmaceuticals, star hotels, lodges and restaurants, renewable energy generation and mining.

At the forum, Ethio-Engineering Group and the Russian Lada company signed the first joint venture interest expression agreement to manufacture and assemble Lada vehicles in Ethiopia.  

The Ethiopian side stated that the new domestic economic reforms initiated by the government are taken as the centre of the foreign policy, with priority given to solving macroeconomic and structural problems and attracting foreign direct investment, trade and tourism.

Joint Statement: Ethiopia-US – 120 Years of Partnership

27 December 2023 (Addis Ababa) – On December 27, 1903, Emperor Menelik II and U.S. envoy Robert Skinner signed the first Ethiopia-U.S. bilateral treaty, commencing 120 years of friendship and partnership between the two nations.   Since then, the Ethiopia-U.S. bilateral relationship has been one of the United States’ longest and closest in sub-Saharan Africa.  The two countries share deep people-to-people bonds that ground our 120 years of relations in an enduring spirit of respect, mutual understanding, and our shared aspirations for peace, security, and economic development.  That spirit has propelled cooperation in health, education, agriculture and food security, and science and the environment that continue to benefit the people of both nations.

Today, State Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Ambassador Mesganu Arga and U.S. Ambassador Ervin Jose Massinga met to discuss how to showcase this significant anniversary throughout the coming year as a milestone of our longstanding bilateral relations and a moment to reflect on how to strengthen the bilateral relationship for the next 120 years.  

ENDS