ZCZC
BCN-15
CHINA-ETHIOPIA-INVESTMENT-BRI
China-Ethiopia dialogue highlights sustainable investment under BRI
BEIJING, Dec. 1, 2019 (BSS/Xinhua) – Ethiopia is hoping to attract more
sustainable investment from Chinese enterprises as fruitful cooperations have
been carried out under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
At the China-Ethiopia High-Level Dialogue on Sustainable Investment held in
Beijing on Friday, both Chinese and Ethiopian officials expressed their hope
to consolidate collaborations to boost the achievements of sustainable
development goals (SDGs).
Aschalew Tadesse Mecheso, a senior official with Ethiopian Investment
Commission (EIC), said Ethiopia looks forward to more investment in the
sectors of information and communication technology and light industries so
as to create more jobs for young people who account for around 70 percent of
the country’s population.
Aiming to facilitate knowledge exchanges and build networks to promote
sustainable investment in Ethiopia, the event attracted over 200 participants
from governments, industries, development agencies and think tanks.
Guo Xuejun with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the Addis Ababa-
Djibouti Railway as an example of the fruitful cooperations between the two
countries under the BRI.
Apart from the railway that has significantly shortened the time of
transporting goods from Ethiopia to Djibouti, he also mentioned a new
economic cluster that is emerging along the railway with the construction and
development of several industrial parks.
China looks forward to working with Ethiopia to initiate more connectivity
projects that are high-quality, sustainable, resilient, affordable,
inclusive, accessible and broadly beneficial, Guo said.
The country is also dedicated to promoting trade and investment
liberalization and facilitation, opposes protectionism and aims to make
greater contributions to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, he said.
Beate Trankmann, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) in China, said the BRI’s key projects, which focus on
connectivity and integration, could help unlock the funding and know-how to
fulfill the SDGs, if relevant investments follow sustainability criteria and
principles of the SDGs.
At the event, organized by the UNDP and supported by the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, China’s embassy in Ethiopia and the EIC, investors also
discussed the opportunities and challenges to invest in Ethiopia.
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1500