(29, 12, 2011, GBC Ghana)--The Ethiopian Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs Gifty Abassiya, says there are a lot of business opportunities in Ghana and Ethiopia that can be harnessed for the mutual benefit of the people of the two countries.
She said Ethiopia grows a lot of flowers, which are not commonly found in Ghana and that leather products, including shoes, belts and wallets, fresh fruits and other agricultural products can be exported to Ghana, using well established Ethiopian Airways Cargo. She said with a population of more than 85 million, Ethiopia can also be a perfected market for most Ghanaian products such as artifacts, chocolates, rubber products, cookware and electrical cables.
Currently, there is no trading relationship between the two countries, besides Ethiopian Airlines which has been serving the Ghana route for the past 51 years. However, the two countries have a rich heritage and share friendship that dates back to the 1940s when Ghana’s first President forged a strong relationship with the leadership of that country to push forward the agenda of a united Africa.
Ghana also sent troops to assist Ethiopia against foreign aggression in the Second World War, a relationship that gave rise to the naming of a barracks in Burma Camp after the Ethiopian city of Gondar in the northern Anhara Province.
And while the Ghanaian economy grew at an estimated 14. 3 per cent this year, Ethiopia is set to record about 11 per cent growth this year at the back of agriculture. But Mrs Abassiya said such fine relationship can be deepened through trade to create more jobs for the people of Ghana and Ethiopia.
‘We have a good relationship which should be leveraged. There is virtually no trade between the two countries and the embassy is trying to develop this market,’ she told the Daily Graphic. She regretted that “besides our airline that flies to Ghana, there are no Ghanaian products in Ethiopia, neither are there, Ethiopian products in Ghana,” adding that with such a large population, Ghana can use that country as a gateway to the Horn of Africa.
The Ethiopian Embassy in Ghana has started talks with Ghana’s Trade Ministry and the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry for members to liaise with their counterparts in Ethiopia to start reciprocal visits.
Like Ghana, Ethiopia has friendly people in the countryside and a lot of tourist attractions and heritage sites across the country, including the monumental churches of Lalibela which were carved out of rocks that stand as the eighth wonder of the world. The economy of Ethiopia is, however, still predominantly closed and open only to countries with which it has bilateral agreements. Not even China, with all its ferocious incursions into Africa, has been able to make much inroads.
It will take persistent bilateral talks and negotiations for the two countries to break through with deepened trade relationships, which will go a long way to create jobs in both countries.
Source: Ghana Broadcasting Corporation
She said Ethiopia grows a lot of flowers, which are not commonly found in Ghana and that leather products, including shoes, belts and wallets, fresh fruits and other agricultural products can be exported to Ghana, using well established Ethiopian Airways Cargo. She said with a population of more than 85 million, Ethiopia can also be a perfected market for most Ghanaian products such as artifacts, chocolates, rubber products, cookware and electrical cables.
Currently, there is no trading relationship between the two countries, besides Ethiopian Airlines which has been serving the Ghana route for the past 51 years. However, the two countries have a rich heritage and share friendship that dates back to the 1940s when Ghana’s first President forged a strong relationship with the leadership of that country to push forward the agenda of a united Africa.
Ghana also sent troops to assist Ethiopia against foreign aggression in the Second World War, a relationship that gave rise to the naming of a barracks in Burma Camp after the Ethiopian city of Gondar in the northern Anhara Province.
And while the Ghanaian economy grew at an estimated 14. 3 per cent this year, Ethiopia is set to record about 11 per cent growth this year at the back of agriculture. But Mrs Abassiya said such fine relationship can be deepened through trade to create more jobs for the people of Ghana and Ethiopia.
‘We have a good relationship which should be leveraged. There is virtually no trade between the two countries and the embassy is trying to develop this market,’ she told the Daily Graphic. She regretted that “besides our airline that flies to Ghana, there are no Ghanaian products in Ethiopia, neither are there, Ethiopian products in Ghana,” adding that with such a large population, Ghana can use that country as a gateway to the Horn of Africa.
The Ethiopian Embassy in Ghana has started talks with Ghana’s Trade Ministry and the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry for members to liaise with their counterparts in Ethiopia to start reciprocal visits.
Like Ghana, Ethiopia has friendly people in the countryside and a lot of tourist attractions and heritage sites across the country, including the monumental churches of Lalibela which were carved out of rocks that stand as the eighth wonder of the world. The economy of Ethiopia is, however, still predominantly closed and open only to countries with which it has bilateral agreements. Not even China, with all its ferocious incursions into Africa, has been able to make much inroads.
It will take persistent bilateral talks and negotiations for the two countries to break through with deepened trade relationships, which will go a long way to create jobs in both countries.
Source: Ghana Broadcasting Corporation
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