BY HAILE DEMEKE
ADDIS ABABA – Withstanding the pressing domestic and international challenges, Ethiopia’s auspicious economic progress has witnessed a 700- million- USD Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflow in the current fiscal year, high-level government officials said.
In its endeavor to make Ethiopia attractive to FDI globally, the government has made various policy amendments and carried out activities to address the interests of multinational companies, Finance State Minister Eyob Tekalign (PhD) told the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA).
The state minister further highlighted that Ethiopia has secured 3.8 billion USD from FDI over the past three years amidst the northern conflict, the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic and other tenacious challenges. Those investment projects have created hundreds of thousands jobs in agriculture, construction, service, hotel and tourism, and other sectors.
The rise of FDI really depends on the measures taken by the government in its efforts to develop the entire economy of the country and ensure inclusive progress. Activities that are being done in the agriculture sector in particular are promising in bringing the desired development, he added.
“There are two types of investors: the one who sees Ethiopia’s successive economic growth and its conducive investment atmosphere and potential and there are also investors that are frustrated by temporary problems. The government has been implementing different mechanisms to attract potential investors.”
Sharing the above rationale, Planning and Development Minister Fitsum Assefa (PhD) said that Ethiopia’s economy has gone through various challenges due to the conflict in the northern part of the country, drought and COVID-19 pandemic. The intensified pressure of some interest groups has also caused a shortage of forex reserves.
Mentioning the reform process as a driving force for the steady growth of investment, the minister pointed out that the government is working towards ensuring inclusive development and attracting companies with rich knowledge and technology packages.
“By the same token, following the introduction of the reform process, remarkable progress has been registered in the execution of projects thereby supplementing the overall economic progress of the country. Projects are means of executing the national development plans.”
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2022
