A Ministry of Finance’s delegation led by the Minister Ahmed Shide held talks recently with the World Bank Country Director and Head of the UK Delegation to the WB/IMF on ways to address the current challenges and strengthen economic cooperation, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) disclosed.
Accordingly, the Minister met with World Bank Country Director Ousmane Dione and discussed the current challenges Ethiopia has encountered and the way the latter would support its endeavors to tackle them. Ahmed also briefed Dione about efforts the Ethiopian government has been working to address the economic impacts of the armed conflict and inflation that has been further intensified by global supply constraints.
The two parties further exchanged views on ways to strengthen cooperation between Ethiopia and the World Bank while Ahmed expressed gratitude to the latter for the recent support it has extended to the response-recovery-resilience for conflict-affected communities’ project.
The country Director on his part expressed commitment to the delivery of pipeline projects which are keen to help the government have a sustained focus on the medium-term development priorities.
Similarly, the Ethiopian delegacy conferred with the United Kingdom’s Delegation to the WB/ IMF, Rt Hon. Vicky Ford, who is also Minister for Africa at the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) on bilateral and economic cooperation issues of mutual importance.
Meanwhile, the finance ministers of the Horn of Africa Initiative held a ministerial meeting to review progress and discuss further strengthening economic integration and regional cooperation in Washington, D.C. last mid-week. According to local media reports, Ahmed said during the occasion that the Horn of Africa has got capacities and capabilities to overcome the current challenges and bounce back better and stronger on the road to regional prosperity.
“We have either completed or entered the negotiation stage for four projects incorporated in the resilience pillar amounting 420 million USD from the three partners that are keen to complement existing sustainable interventions to climate change, in drought prone areas.”
It was stated that Ethiopian National Bank Governor Yinager Dessie (PhD) and Finance’s State Minister Eyob Tekalign (PhD) accompanied Ahmed Shide in Washington, D.C. to attend the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meeting.
BY MESERET BEHAILU
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 24 APRIL 2022