Ministry of Foreign Affairs Middle East Affairs Director General Ambassador Siraj Reshid said that Ethiopia attaches great importance to enhance its cooperation and relations with the state of Qatar. The economic and diplomatic relations between the two countries have been steadily growing.
Opening the Ethio-Qatar Joint Technical Committee meeting here yesterday, Ambassador Siraj said that though both Ethiopia and Qatar have immense potential in trade and investment, there have also been other rich and potential opportunities to strengthen bilateral ties and sound relationships. Ethiopia is endowed with ample natural and human resources while Qatar is rich in financial resources; so that the need to exploit such resources would require cooperation to achieve greater bilateral benefits for the people of the two countries, he added.
Ambassador Siraj also said that the government of Ethiopia is committed to provide every support for foreign investors. Qatari investors are highly welcome to invest in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, power generation and other sectors. “Strengthening people-to-people relations is the other area that Ethiopia needs to cooperate with. Both countries also have common historical and cultural backgrounds that need to be raised.”
Qatari Foreign Ministry International Technical Cooperation Department Director Ambassador Tariq Ali Al-Ansari on his part said that though the two countries share many things in common such as language and culture, Qatar gives great importance to Ethiopia. Qatar is keen to cooperate with Ethiopia particularly in investment, air traffic line, agriculture, hydroelectric projects, mining and petroleum exploration sectors, he added.
Ambassador Tariq said that Ethiopia is rich in natural resources and agriculture, but some technical capabilities need boosting and quarter-ship to move ahead for exploiting these resources. “We must be ready to combat bureaucracy in both countries and move ahead with this agreement, because this is a prerequisite for further engagements,” he said.
[www.ethpress.gov.et/herald/]