Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade Ian Borg signed three collaboration agreements with the Government of Ethiopia during a bilateral meeting he had with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Demeke Mekonnen. These three agreements are in the air services sector, training for diplomats and the tourism sector.
During this meeting, Minister Borg reiterated that this is the first visit by a Maltese Foreign Affairs in Ethiopia and this shows Malta’s will, as is listed in our foreign policy strategy, to continue to enhance our relations with strategic countries on the African continent.
“The agreement we signed today, in particular that which concerns air services, is a very important one because in this way we are providing the necessary platform to evaluate the possibility of a direct connection between the two countries which will pave the way for more trade”, said Minister Borg.
Minister Borg also continued to discuss with Minister Mekonnen a number of trade sectors in which there could potentially be more cooperation, including manufacturing, the services sector, pharmaceuticals and even the digital sector, among others.
From his end, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia Demeke Mekonnen reiterated how this visit is a significant one and the Government of Ethiopia appreciates Malta’s decision to open up an Embassy in Ethiopia. He thanked Malta for its honest and balanced contribution on multilateral fora about the African continent.