Ethiopia Gets €100mln Budgetary Support from Germany

ADDIS ABEBA – Ethiopia and Germany have signed on Wednesday a budgetary support grant agreement amounting to 100 million Euros.

The purpose of the grant is to provide budgetary financial support to the implementation of the National COVID-19 Multi-Sectorial Preparedness and Response Plan, according to Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance.

Finance Minister Ahmed Shide and Germany Ambassador to Ethiopia, Stephan Auer, signed the grant agreement at the Ministry’s headquarter on Wednesday.

On the occasion, Finance Minister Ahmed said Germany’s latest contribution “will give us much strength to contain the virus”. It will help the country cope with the challenge “and recover from the impact of the pandemic, and consolidate socio-economic gains we have made over the past decades”, the minister added.

Ethiopian authorities believe the grant will complement their effort to realize the implementation of the national response plan, largely to support industrial parks and small and medium enterprises.

It also aims at expanding social protection measures to cover more vulnerable segments of the populations, particularly the people requiring food aid and essential services, the ministry indicated.

“The support is truly and timely because of the multiple Socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, which risks Ethiopian’s economic development progress,” the minister added.

Ambassador of Germany Auer described Ethiopia as “a strategic and important partner of Germany in Africa, and expressed his country’s commitment to assist the political and economic reform which Ethiopia is undertaking. — By Sisay Sahlu