Africa-Press – Ethiopia. Ethiopia’s Trade and Regional Integration Minister Kassahun Gofe has announced significant progress in bilateral trade negotiations with India.
Minister Kassahun announced that “significant progress” had been made following high-level discussions with India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal, held on the sidelines of the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14) in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
In a social media post, Minister Kassahun said he held “fruitful discussions” with his Indian counterpart, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry.
The discussion focused on bilateral market access opportunities as part of Ethiopia’s broader efforts to conclude its WTO accession negotiations by 2026.
He noted that Ethiopia has already finalized bilateral agreements with several countries and is now pushing to accelerate remaining negotiations, including with India, to meet its accession timeline.
According to the Minister, he urged India to expedite the conclusion of outstanding negotiations, emphasizing the importance of timely progress for Ethiopia’s WTO accession process.
In response, Shri Piyush Goyal reportedly assured that India is prepared to conclude negotiations with Ethiopia within a week, a development described as highly significant for both bilateral trade relations and Ethiopia’s multilateral accession efforts.
The minister also reaffirmed India’s continued support for Ethiopia’s WTO accession journey.
Beyond trade negotiations, both ministers exchanged views on strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between Ethiopia and India, including cooperation within the BRICS framework.
The talks are seen as a potential step forward in deepening economic ties between the two countries while advancing Ethiopia’s long-standing goal of joining the WTO.
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