ADDIS ABABA – The UAE-Ethiopia Business Advisory Council recently held a General Meeting in Addis Ababa where Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) announced plan to attract 750,000 local and international visitors in the upcoming Expo 2020 Dubai.
Approached by The Ethiopian Herald, Export Promotion Director with MoTI, Haimanot Tibebu said that the plan is taking into account Ethiopia’s untapped trade and investment opportunities as well as the thriving relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the hosting nation.
The Director, who is also Technical Lead for Expo 2020 Ethiopian Committee, noted that the comprehensive display of Ethiopia’s products, services, history and culture, which is supplemented by aggressive marketing activity, could draw the stated number of visitors in the six- month event.
Haimanot stated that the ministry put in place a digital marketing strategy and it has been developing dedicated Facebook page and website to provide information for Expo participants about Ethiopia’s trade and investment opportunities and the country’s conducive investment policy.
“Ethiopia’s blossoming ties with the UAE is also a huge factor for our pavilion is being visited by a significant number of local participants,” she said, adding that the UAE government has been rendering substantial support for Ethiopia to make a successful stay in the mega event.
The display of the fossil of the 3.2 million – year-old Australopithecus Afarensis (Lucy) and the promotion of the country as the birth place of coffee and its historical and natural tourist attraction sites are also believed to bring a sizeable number of visitors.
Situated next to the host country’s pavilion, Ethiopia’s display has a good opportunity to get the attention of numerous walkway visitors in the Expo that is expected to bring 25 million visitors from 192 countries.
Regarding the benefits of Ethiopia’s participation in the Expo 2020, the team lead indicated that the event avails a good opportunity to Ethiopia to cast itself in positive light among the global community. The Expo is also a platform to present the country as a right place to do business to multinational corporates.
Whilst consolidated efforts are underway to encourage Ethiopian business community to make a meaningful participation in the Expo, targeted forums would be staged in a view to attracting the involvement of global companies in the nation’s priority areas, Haimanot elaborated.
Dubai Chamber International Office Ethiopia Chief Representative, Tewabech Molla on her part expressed gratitude to the UAE Embassy in Addis Ababa, which has provided valuable support in getting the UAE Ethiopia Business Advisory Council up and running.
Established in 2018, the UAE-Ethiopia Business Advisory Council outlined plans to ease the investment process for UAE companies operating in Ethiopia and remove the existing barriers to bilateral trade.
Tewabech stated that through the council, the international office has been working closely with private and public stakeholders to identify Ethiopian’s business opportunities for UAE companies and build new bridges of cooperation between the two countries business entities. The office has also been able to support Ethiopian traders and those who wish to establish businesses in the UAE.
Regarding Dubai Expo, she noted that the significance of the event goes far beyond Dubai and the UAE as it is the first World Expo to be hosted in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region. “On this year’s October, Ethiopia will leverage the Expo platform to showcase its economic potential to the world and expand its cross-border cooperation.”
The chief representative stressed that activities should not only focus to leverage the Expo 2020 platform to showcase Ethiopia’s economic and tourism potential, but also look beyond the event for continued cooperation between the two friendly nations.
As an Official Expo 2020 Dubai Partner, Dubai Chamber is playing a central role as a business facilitator for the forthcoming event where it plans to host 33 business forums including the largest-ever edition of the Global Business Forum Africa, Tewabech remarked.
Expo 2020 is scheduled to take place from October 20,2020 to April 10, 2021 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Ethiopian Herald February 18/2020
BY BILAL DERSO
