Ethiopia’s State Minister of Finance, Ms. Semereta Sewasew, on Friday held a discussion with Dr. Walid Hamed Shiltagh, Head of League of Arab States Permanent Diplomatic Missions to Ethiopia, met to reflect on mutual interests.
The focus of the consultation was on mutual interests to strengthen the relationship between Ethiopia and the League of Arab States, building on longstanding socioeconomic, cultural, and religious ties and enhancing long-term investment and development opportunities, according to the information from the Ministry of Finance of Ethiopia.
It is stated that the Minister also met with Mr. Itonde A. Kakoma, IFRC Director of Global Humanitarian Diplomacy and Permanent Representative to the African Union and International Organizations at a ceremony held in ministry of finance.
The statement also stated that they discussed opportunities of mobilizing resources for the Food and Nutrition Resilience Program targeting Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and South Sudan, endorsed at the Horn of Africa Ministerial Roundtable on Food Security Addis Ababa, African Union meeting.
“The two parts furthermore consulted on the active participation of the government of Ethiopia in the upcoming Africa Arab Summit to be held in Saud Arabia, at the end of November and high-level forums in the lead-up to the summit, focusing on key issues including economic development, environment, and culture,” it said.
“These forums can serve as platforms to share potential economic and investment opportunities to Arab countries, promotion of effective programs to enhance agricultural productivity and environmental protection, and strengthen cultural ties.”
The statement also indicated that establishing regular exchanges with Arab Ambassadors` council on key initiatives in Ethiopia, priorities of the ministry, as a means of ensuring a holistic and well-packaged approach to advancing bilateral engagements were some of the main points they discussed.
The meeting between the two officials came a few weeks after, Egypt, which hosts the Arab League headquarters, urged the Arab League members to put pressure on Ethiopia to sign a binding deal related to the use of the Nile River.