Minister encourages further British investment
British Business Group (BGG) members held a lunch meeting with Ethiopian Foreign Minister Dr Tedros and showcased their products
Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Tedros Adhanom speaking at the lunch meeting of British Business Group held at Hilton Addis
A British Business Group (BGG) held a lunch meeting today on Thursday 09 January 2014 at the Hilton Hotel in Addis Ababa and showcased their products to invited guests.
His Excellency Tewodros Adhanom, Ethiopian Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited the small business exhibition held by eight British companies at the hotel.
HE Tewodros told 73 members of the BBG attending the event that he would like to see more British investors coming to Ethiopia.
Speaking on the event, HE Tewodros said “you made a right decision for investing in Ethiopia and we thank you. We expect more investment and I assure you that you will be rewarded as Ethiopia’s economy expands and grows in the future.”
Speaking on the event, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Greg Dorey said “Ethiopia has developed into our biggest bilateral development partner in the world. And from a low base, we have seen our trade and investment relationship take off dramatically too. I want to see them grow still more in future years as high rates of growth continue and the country opens up further.”
BBG is a group of British based companies operating in Ethiopia and having over 200 members drawn from various sectors of trade, service, and industry.
UK exports of goods and services reached £248m in 2011. Similarly, Ethiopia’s export of goods and services to the UK had also risen to £105m.
Direct investment of UK companies in Ethiopia is increasing. The major companies include Diageo (acquired Meta Abo Brewery at a cost of USD 225m), Duet (equity investment worth $90m in Dashen Brewery), and Silk Investment (substantial share holding at NAS Foods PLC).