| Home | Politics | Human Rights | Water | Economy | Education | Sci & Tech | Culture | Sport |
25 August, 2007
Before concluding the 4th Ethio-Yemen Joint Ministerial Commission late on Monday, Ethiopia and Yemen signed various agreements for strengthening and implementing previous trade agreements. The agreement signed to establish a free zone was one of the main fields of bilateral cooperation.
Despite the agreements signed on quality and standard, joint business council, health, culture and tourists and youth and sports, the agreement signed to establish a free trade zone is considered as a great leap into the two countries' long-time relations.
According to the agreement, the establishment of a free trade zone would help provide for travels without passport and visa. This agreement paves the way for enabling the business community of the two countries to travel without visa with a view to accelerating trade and investment activities.
Currently, the trade turnover between the two countries has reached over USD 37 million. Ethiopia earned USD 26 million from the export of its products to Yemen last year. Some 134 licensed Yemeni investors are now operating in Ethiopia in various sectors.
It is to be recalled that Ethiopia and Yemen signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in Sana'a in 1992 to promote bilateral cooperation in economic, social and cultural fields. Since then, the two countries have continued to work on developing mutual cooperation in various fields and in mid-1999 reactivated the Joint Commission at a meeting held April of the same year in Sana'a.
Relations between the two countries began as of the first half of the 6th century and their people enjoyed the long-standing relations in terms of economic, cultural, religious and social ties.
Mehadi Ahmed Gedid, head of the Department of Asia, Australia and the Middle East of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, said that the two countries are enjoying an age-old economic and trade ties that goes back to the Axumite period.
He said various agreements on trade, investment, agriculture, mineral, tourism, transport and security, among others, were signed and are being implemented by the two countries.
Dr. Abubaker Al-Qirbi, the Yemeni Foreign Affairs Minister, who led the Yemeni high-level delegation, told journalists that to enhance the trade relations between the two countries an enabling framework has been put in place in a joint trade committee. "Ethiopia and Yemen have been assisting each other in economic, cultural and political matters since ancient times," he said.
He said that the talks with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi were centered on ways of expanding trade and investment cooperation as well as dealing with other regional issues of common interest.
By Melaku Demissie - Ethiopian Reporter