Ethiopia, Somalia Forge Partnership with Italy to Boost Investments

Leaders of Ethiopia, Italy, and Somalia held a trilateral meeting in Addis Ababa to bolster their partnership in various areas including investments in Horn Africa.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hosted the meeting with Italy’s Primer Giorgia Meloni and Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday Morning.

“We discussed important matters of security, trade, economic growth & investment opportunities,” President Mohamud said in a tweet. The exchanges were “characterized by a spirit of cooperation” and “joint endeavor for the benefit of our citizens.”

The outcome-based trilateral meeting has also been “fruitful “, according to PM Abiy.

His office says the trilateral meeting has ended with commitments focussing on three areas including strengthening their partnerships on the international stage.

The remaining two are investments in infrastructure between Ethiopia and Somalia supported by Rome; and enhancing Italian private sector investments in the two African nations, as per the PM Office.

“We will continue to work together to build an equal and mutually beneficial partnership,” Italy’s PM Meloni said after the trilateral meeting.

The meeting took place a day after the Italian and Somali leaders arrived in Addis Ababa for a two-day official visit.

Italy’s PM Bilateral Meetings in Addis

Apart from the trilateral meeting, Abiy also held bilateral discussions with his PM Meloni during a working dinner at the Grand Palace on Friday.

Meloni says the discussion with Abiy, who was in Rome in February, “confirms the common desire to strengthen our bilateral relations.”

“Italy is alongside Ethiopia in its path of institutional strengthening and socio-economic growth,” Meloni added.

Rome considers the “stability and integrity” of Ethiopia to be a priority for national interest because of its location on the migratory route from East Africa to Europe, Italy’s news agency ANSA explains. Ethiopia hosts nearly 900,000 refugees from neighboring countries.

The latest security developments in neighboring Somalia were the subject of a bilateral discussion between Meloni and President Mohamud on Friday.

The discussions, apart from security, dealt with Italy’s support for post-al-Shabab reconstruction, stabilization, and debt relief efforts, the President’s office of Somalia says.

In Addis Ababa, Meloni held bilateral talks with African Union Commission (AUC) Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat. She also visited the Italian School of Galileo Galilei in the capital, the largest Italian school outside the country with nearly 900 students.

PM Abiy saw both leaders of Italy and Somalia off at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport on Saturday afternoon after both concluded their two-day visit to Ethiopia.