From November 12 to 14, the forum "Russia - Ethiopia: Time Doesn't Wait!" took place in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. It was attended by a delegation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, headed by Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Vladimir Padalko. 

At the plenary session "The Future of Bilateral Cooperation between Russia and Ethiopia", Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Vladimir Padalko made a report. According to him, despite the low level of trade turnover between our countries, there is potential for trade development, which should be facilitated by a more intensive dialogue between representatives of business circles. At the same time, one cannot fail to note the positive dynamics of growth in trade turnover. In 2023, this figure exceeded the volumes of 2022. Over the first 8 months of 2024, the growth trend continues.

An important feature of our cooperation at the new stage is the high interest in developing business ties with Ethiopia on the part of Russian small and medium-sized businesses, noted Vladimir Padalko.

In his speech, he also noted that this year Ethiopia became a full member of the BRICS association, and representatives of the Ethiopian business community actively and with great interest joined the joint work through the BRICS Business Council.

"There is no doubt that Ethiopia's participation in the dialogue that is being conducted at the site of our Business Council will allow us to solve urgent problems of developing and deepening multilateral trade and economic cooperation within the association even more effectively and in a "constructive manner,"" said Vice President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vladimir Padalko.

The Russian Ambassador to Ethiopia Evgeny Terekhin, who took part in the opening of the Ethiopia-Russia Trade House, addressed the forum participants with a greeting.

The opening ceremony was attended by AFROCOM Chairman Igor Morozov and representatives of the Ethiopian side.

The forum included round tables on “Industry digitalization: strategies and implementation of new technologies. Presentation of successful projects of Russian business and countries of the African continent”, “Prospects and mechanisms for the development of trade relations between Ethiopia and Russia”, “Prospects for the development of geological exploration of subsoil and subsoil use: raw materials projects and their impact on the economy”, “Modern transport. Current issues in the development of transport infrastructure”, “Digital sovereignty: ensuring cybersecurity in the era of digitalization of the economy, integration of smart technologies into the urban environment”.

Russian businessmen, representatives of the government and banking circles of Ethiopia took part in the work of the Forum.

By Peter Cheremushkin,

Press service of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation