The meeting was chaired by State Minister of Finance Semereta Sewasew (L) and Head of Development Cooperation Benjamin Tedla Hecker, on behalf of Ethiopia and Germany, respectively.
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Priority Sectors Reviewed Ahead of Ethio-Germany Talks on Dev’t Cooperation

ADDIS ABABA – A preparatory meeting discussed Germany’s draft priority sectors on Thursday ahead of negotiations on development cooperation with the government of Ethiopia.

“The purpose of the meeting was to discuss thoroughly and have a clear and common understanding” in the bilateral talks, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) says

The Ethio-Germany government negotiations on development cooperation will be held on November 27-28, 2023.

The preparatory meeting in Addis Ababa was chaired by State Minister of Finance Semereta Sewasew and Head of Development Cooperation Benjamin Tedla Hecker, on behalf of Ethiopia and Germany, respectively.

Officials from ministries of Agriculture, Education, Labor and Skills, as well as Justice were present on the Ethiopian side while Germany was represented by its Embassy, KfW bank, and GIZ development agency.

Per MoF, draft priority sectors presented by the German side were under three broad areas – ‘Peaceful and Inclusive societies’; ‘Transformation of agricultural and food systems’; and ‘Sustainable economic development, training and employment’.

The line Ministries then extended their appreciation to the government of Germany for continued support in line with the Ethiopian government’s prospective sectoral plans. They also complimented the areas by listing out their priorities, justifications for further interventions, and potential initiatives.

The meeting was concluded after an agreement was reached by both sides to focus on key priority sectors and to ensure synergy and coordination among and within the Ministries.

They also agreed to come up with concise and clear documents for the bilateral negotiations set for the final week of this month.