Bilateral trade is rising, Turkish ambassador to Ethiopia tells Anadolu Agency
As bilateral trade between Turkey and Ethiopia hits $650 million and the two countries plan to boost the figure to $1 billion a year, Turkey indicated the need for a preferential trade agreement.
“Trade between Turkey and Ethiopia is rising,” Turkish Ambassador to Ethiopia Yaprak Alp said, adding: “But we need to make sure it’d balanced trade; we want Ethiopia to win as much as Turkey is winning.”
Speaking to Anadolu Agency,she said: “We need a preferential trade agreement where tariffs will be lowered and, in some cases, abolished; where we can have more trade; where we can import more coffee and sesame from Ethiopia.”
According to her, negotiations to establish a preferential trade pact between the two countries started in 2017.
“We were asking Ethiopia to sit down, let’s start negotiations and make sure that it’s a win-win situation for more trade,” she said.
Ethiopian Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen, who is also the country’s deputy prime minister, on Monday started a two-day official visit to Turkey. He already inaugurated a new building to house the Ethiopian Embassy in the capital Ankara.
Ethiopia mostly exports agricultural commodities and goods to Turkey while importing industrial and pharmaceutical products from Turkey.