ADDIS ABABA-The Minister of Trade and Industry (MOTI) has announced that as part of the effort to ensure peace between the two countries, Ethiopia has sent two trade agreement documents to Eritrea government this week. The two trade agreement documents are: “Ethio- Eritrea Boarder Trade Agreement and EthioEritrea Bilateral Trade Relation Agreement “according to MOTI.
Wondimu Filate Communications Affairs Director at MOTI approached by The Ethiopian Herald said that the Ethiopian government has recently invited its Eritrean counterpart devising two agreement documents and waiting response of the latter. The Ethiopian government is ready for the implementation of the documents if the Eritrean government agrees up on the papers which pursue the prevalence of legal trade in accordance with the rule and customs for handling trade between the two countries.
The legal license which will be given for traders enables the society to get products and services fairly and timely. And the agreements will have enormous role to enhance the socioeconomic cooperation between the two countries, Wondimu added. He also said that after the peace agreement was made with Eritrea, the government of Ethiopian has strongly been working to legalize the border trade.
The documents were prepared by the team drawn from MOTI and Minister of Foreign Affairs, he added. The Border trade agreement documents were prepared aiming to benefit the community residing in border areas without violating international trade law and the interests of the two countries. Indicating that there has been prevalence of illegal commercial activities manifested through the use of the two countries currencies, he said the trade documents will expected to come up with far reaching solution.
According to the Mekelle Branch Customs Commission Coordinator Mihreteab Gebremedhin, customs facilities in the northern part of Ethiopia, (Zalambessa, Rama and Humera) have been established as legal entities to facilitate the border trade. Federal police and customs officers are being deployed at Zalambessa Custom Office, once a bustling warm trade town before the destructive war between the two close neighbors deprived it of its glory some 20 years back.
After the Ethio-Eritrean rapprochement, it is recalled that trade and other social activities have been held warmly until the borders were surprisingly closed by the Eritrean side, local authorities disclosed.
The Ethiopian Herald, May 23/2019
BY MULATU BELACHEW
