Council of Ministers Approves Deals Signed with Israel, Two Bills

ADDIS ABEBA – The Council of Ministers passed two bills and deals which were concluded between Ethiopia and Israel to cooperate in the areas of customs, tourism, and agriculture.

The agreements, according to the PM office’s statement, will help to put in place efficient customs management and successful customs law.

It will also encourage experience sharing among tourism professionals and promote tourist destinations as well as to properly run the agreement inked in the agricultural sector, the office said late Saturday.

After deliberating on the three draft laws developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to approve the deals, the Council referred them to the House of People’s Representatives (HPR) for approval.

The Council, in its 69th regular session, has also discussed and approved on two draft bills.

The first one was developed by the Ministry of Revenues and is aimed at amending the existing Customs law, which, according to the PM office, has gaps and needs addressing to ease doing business in the country.

The other bill, which was a subject of Saturday’s discussion, is prepared by the Ministry of Urban Development and Construction.

The statement the PM office released said the bill intends to determine expropriation of landholdings for public purposes and payment of compensation.

The existing law, which came into effect 13 years ago, is not in parallel with the level of development that the country is currently in, and needs improvement, it said.

With some amendments on both draft bills, the Council sent both bills to House for approval, the office noted.