Ethiopia and India have longstanding relations in a broad-array of aspects. Lot of India companies are engaged in different sectors here in the country. Win- win cooperation renders the two countries’ relation ever stronger. Currently, India is one of the leading players in business commitment toward Ethiopia’s business activity as well as global level.
Mayur Kothari is a convener in India Business Forum. He is an investor who has been born and brought up in Ethiopia. The flagship company of his group is Mohan Private Limited Company. The company business activities are manufacturing of Polymer based industrial raw materials, different types of footwear, nails and barbed wire products. Concerning the activity of India Business Forum, he would like to brief our esteemed readers the following. Excerpts:
Herald: What connection does the India Business forum has with the India Embassy in Ethiopia?
Mayur: India Business Forum was formed under the umbrella of the Indian Embassy in 2005 by Ambassador, Gurjit Singh. India Business Forum therefore has a very strong relationship with the Embassy of India. The Ambassador of India is the Patron of India Business Forum. The Commercial Representative of the Embassy is the Ex Officio Secretary.
The affairs of India Business Forum are conducted by the Executive Committee which represents the various different business sectors that our members are engaged in. Both the Ambassador and the Commercial Representative of the Embassy had attend the meetings of India Business Forum.
Herald: What missions, India Business Forum, have to strengthen further the business relation of the two countries?
Mayur: One of the main objectives of forming the India Business Forum was to help and encourage potential investors in taking the important decision of investing in Ethiopia. India Business Forum has generally been the first point of contact for potential Indian investors. India Business Forum regularly arranges meetings with visiting investors and business delegations and encourages Indian businesses to invest in Ethiopia.
I think India Business Forum has played an important role in making India one of the leading investing countries in Ethiopia. Some of the notable endeavors can be said to be when in 2017 India Business Forum hosted a very successful India Ethiopia Business Dialogue which was attended by Ram Nath Kovind, President of India and Dr. Mulatu Teshome, President of FDRE along with several potential investors and officials from both countries.
Prior to that, India Business Forum had played a very important role during the visit of the Prime Minister of India Dr.
Manmohan Singh who was accompanied by strong business delegation representing some of India’s top companies. In 2015 the Convener and the Deputy Convener of India Business Forum had accompanied the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Haile Mariam Desalegn to the India Africa Summit hosted in New Delhi by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where India Business Forum was given the opportunity to make presentations to attract Indian investors.
Herald: Does the India embassy in Ethiopia have any roles to support the India Business Forum? If yes, could you relate that to us?
Mayur: Under the umbrella of the Embassy of India, the Embassy plays an important role in supporting India Business Forum. Both India Business Forum and Embassy of India share a common objective of promoting trade and investment between the two countries. And I can proudly say that we work as a solid team to see more Indian investments in Ethiopia.
The Embassy supports the Forum by arranging various platforms to interact with various Ethiopian and Indian government officials. We have had the opportunity to have meetings with several senior Ethiopians and Indian ministers to understand policies, troubleshoot implementation issues, make recommendations among others. We were most honored to have the Prime Minister Hailemaria, Desalegn to grace our 9th anniversary meeting where we had a very candid discussion with him on many issues.
The Embassy plays a guiding role to India Business Forum when it comes to resolving trade complaints of its member companies by way of taking them up with
the concerned Government authorities. Most of our meetings are held at the meeting hall of the Embassy which itself is a big support.
Herald: What kind of life style lessons should Ethiopians draw from India?
Mayur: Socially and culturally India and Ethiopia are very similar so there would be very few life style lessons to learn. But India has had a head start in industrialization and therefore there are definitely some lessons to be learnt on the industrial work culture.
Many of the industries in Ethiopia are at a similar technological level with various Small and Medium Enterprises in India. There would be some fantastic lessons to learn on how to increase productivity, ensure affordable quality and come up with a good product mix.
Herald: Does the India Business Forum engage in the activities of think thank group relation, people-to people connectivity, and educational program?
Mayur: India Business Forum does not claim to be a think tank group but our members have excellent on the ground experience in their fields with a complete knowledge of the opportunities and challenges in their respective fields. On people –to-people connectivity I believe that trade and investment have historically remained the biggest bonds of friendship and therefore no surprise that India and Ethiopia have an ancient history of people-to-people connectivity and friendship.
On education, the government of India offers many scholarships to Ethiopian students under its ITEC program. From March 2019 to February 2020 a total of 422 trainings and long term fully sponsored scholarships
have been provided to Ethiopian students and professionals.
Herald: Tell us about trade relation between India and Ethiopia?
Mayur: Regarding Ethio-India business relation, trade between India and Ethiopia, as is a well- known fact, goes back up to 2nd Century A.D. India is currently the 3rd most important source of imports for Ethiopia
contributing to 10.1 percent of all of Ethiopias imports. According to the annual report of National Bank of Ethiopia in 2017-18 E.C., the volume of trade between the two countries stood at approximately 1.271 Billion USD. Ethiopian exports to India were approximately 47.45 Million USD. Efforts are being made by both governments to identify more products so that the exports from Ethiopia to India can be increased.
Herald: At last, you are welcome to convey your message?
Mayur: I take this opportunity to thank the people and the government of Ethiopia for the true love, friendship and respect which they have always shown towards Indians. The world is currently passing through a very difficult phase and we will need to understand each other, unite and work together more closely than ever before.
We are all in it together and we shall, with our unity, understanding and collaboration overcome all the challenges and return to normalcy very soon again. Last but not the least, despite however cliché it may sound, I would like to end by taking this opportunity to request all to stay safe and adhere to the regulations that are in place which are meant for our own safety and for the safety of our loved ones.
The Ethiopian Herald May 3/2020
BY MEHARI BEYENE
