Ethiopia wants more Indian investment

Thursday, 19 October 2006, 19:30 IST
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New Delhi: Ethiopia has invited Indian investment in various sectors, including infrastructure, textiles, leather, agriculture processing and small-scale industries. Ethiopia has already cleared investment proposals from India worth $500 million, Ethiopian Minister of Trade and Industry Girma Biru said at a meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). "Ethiopia has a five-year plan for accelerated development of infrastructure to facilitate industrial growth. This gives an excellent opportunity to Indian investors in various sectors," the minister said. These infrastructure projects include constructing 20,000 km of roads, boring 1,700 deep wells, building five large dams and adding 4.3 million fixed lines and 1.6 mobile lines. "Trade with India has grown steadily and stands at $83 million in 2005-06, a rise of 27 percent over the previous year," the minister said. Anup Pujari, joint secretary in the Indian finance ministry, said: "India is also keen to increase bilateral trade and cooperation with Ethiopia." India will soon sign a Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement with Ethiopia and is keen to expand the trade basket, added Pujari.
Source: IANS