Essegenet Bezabih Yimenu Ethiopia’s Ambassador to Uganda has urged for further trade cooperation between the two countries and hailed the already ever growing bilateral ties between Ethiopia and Uganda. A call was made at the Public Diplomacy Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while on tour of duty.
This call was made in relation to the two countries geographical locations and economic zones to their advantage. In spite of these facts, both countries have not done enough to promote trade between them. Something the Ethiopian ambassador said her mission is keenly interested in addressing.
“Both our countries have not done enough to promote trade, something we need to look into keenly and promote all business between us through connecting institutions,” said Yimenu.
She further said that COVID-19 didn’t offer much in terms of expanding trade, as it was limited to virtual and within, but now that there are available opportunities that should be explored and utilised, trade should not only be limited to Kampala but also move out to other districts and regions.
Uganda recorded exporting $2.44 million in 2021 to Ethiopia. With milk, rubber tyres, and toilet paper among the products, whereas Ethiopia exported $1.22 million to Uganda, with eggs, Poultry, vegetable and mineral carving as major products.
“To grow the volumes of exported products, both countries need to strengthen trade and promote cooperation, and Ethiopia has embarked on promoting these trade relations where we have started promoting Leather, Wine, and coffee,” said Yimenu.
For the last 26 years, exports of products from Uganda to Ethiopia have increased (1995–2021) from $ 86,100 to $2021, and from Ethiopia to Uganda from $671,00 to $1.22 M in 2021.