6th India-Ethiopia Joint Trade Committee

IAS Current Affairs

1 year ago

Source: PIB
GS II: International Relation

Overview

Why in the News?

6th Session of the India-Ethiopia Joint Trade Committee (JTC) was conducted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 6-7 November 2023.

The Economic Advisor, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, and the Lead Executive of the International and Regional Trade Integration, Ministry of Trade & Regional Integration, Ethiopia, co-chaired the meeting.
The Ambassador of India to Ethiopia and senior officials from both sides also participated in the JTC.

Both sides agreed to expeditiously address all issues impeding bilateral trade and facilitate trade promotion between the two countries.
The Indian side invited the Ethiopian side to collaborate on the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) of India with Ethswitch of Ethiopia.
Further, the Indian side also urged Ethiopia to explore the possibility of settlement of trade transactions in local currency which will help boost bilateral trade and conserve foreign exchange.
The deliberations of the 6th Sessions of India-Ethiopia JTC were cordial and forward-looking, reflecting the traditionally friendly and special relations between the two countries.
Both sides identified several areas of focus for enhancing both bilateral trade as well as mutually beneficial investments.
- These include health and pharmaceuticals, automobiles, textiles, infrastructure projects, food and agro-processing and so on.
Both sides also reviewed the progress of ongoing discussions for Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) in the field of Standardization and quality assurance and Customs procedure and agreed to conclude them expeditiously.
The Indian side also requested the Ethiopian side to expedite the early finalization of the Bilateral Investment Treaty.

Fastest growing economies in the African region.
It has an estimated growth of 6.4% in the year 2021-22.
Bilateral trade between India and Ethiopia stood at USD 642.59 million in 2022-23.
India is the second largest exporter to Ethiopia.
Indian companies are among the top three foreign investors in Ethiopia with existing Indian investment of USD 5 billion of which, about USD 3-4 billion is estimated to be on the ground.
Indian companies have invested in various sectors like agriculture and floriculture, engineering, plastics, manufacturing, cotton and textiles, water management, pharmaceuticals and healthcare.

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