(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM)) ADDIS ABABA,18th August, 2023 (WAM) -- President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, today held talks on various aspects of bilateral relations, in addition to broader regional and international issues of mutual interest.
During the meeting held in Addis Ababa, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia welcomed His Highness the President, emphasising that His Highness' visit further advances relations between the two countries.
His Highness expressed his delight at visiting Ethiopia and meeting with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. His Highness thanked him for delivering his condolences in person on the passing of Sheikh Saeed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which reflected the special and strong relationship between the two countries.
His Highness congratulated Abiy Ahmed on the occasion of his birthday, which falls on 15th August, wishing him a long life, good health, and happiness.
His Highness also extended his greetings to Sahle-Work Zewde, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and conveyed his wishes for her health and wellbeing.
His Highness and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia discussed enhancing various areas of cooperation, including economic, investment, and development ties, across all sectors to serve joint aspirations to support the development and prosperity of both nations.
The two sides discussed regional and international developments and exchanged views on issues of shared concern, emphasising the importance of building bridges of cooperation and effective partnerships that contribute to improving the quality of life and promoting prosperity for their peoples.
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan underscored the UAE's keenness to foster collaboration with Ethiopia based on mutual trust, respect, and a commitment to achieving common interests. This reflects the UAE's efforts to enhance its relations with other nations through partnership and cooperation across all fields to pursue collective solutions to challenges facing the international community.
His Highness underscored that relations between the UAE and Ethiopia are growing and have witnessed significant progress in recent years, particularly in areas that serve sustainability and development in both countries.
He emphasised the UAE's keenness to further advance its relations with Ethiopia, including in sectors such as agriculture, food security, energy, trade, investment, technology, and others.
His Highness noted that Ethiopia is an important trading partner of the UAE in Africa, as the non-oil trade volume between the two countries reached USD 1.4 billion in 2022, adding that both sides are working to increase this figure in the coming years. The UAE and Ethiopia are also working to enhance economic exchange, especially given the promising investment opportunities between the two countries, in addition to collaboration in the field of renewable energy, particularly solar energy, His Highness added.
His Highness emphasised that Ethiopia holds special significance for the UAE in line with its commitment to enhancing ties throughout Africa. This significance is further underscored by Ethiopia's hosting of the Organisation of African Unity's headquarters, which gives it substantial influence across the continent.
His Highness emphasised that the UAE is committed to working with partners in Africa to further strengthen peace throughout the continent as part of its enduring aim to foster global stability and prosperity. As such, the UAE fully backs all endeavours to achieve peaceful resolutions to crises within the continent and beyond.
His Highness also welcomed the encouraging progress made through the recent agreement between the Arab Republic of Egypt and Ethiopia, which marks the commencement of negotiations aimed at reaching a comprehensive settlement on the Renaissance Dam issue.
He expressed his optimism that forthcoming discussions would lead to a satisfactory resolution for both sides and reinforce cooperation among the concerned nations while promoting regional stability.
His Highness extended an invitation to the Ethiopian Prime Minister to participate in the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) to be hosted by the UAE later this year.
His Highness commended Ethiopia's commitment to advancing renewable energy, underscoring that it shares the UAE's objective of attaining climate neutrality by 2050 and stimulating unprecedented economic growth and social development through climate innovation.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister conveyed his appreciation for the deep-rooted relations between the two countries and their peoples, praising the UAE's efforts to bolster security and stability while strengthening global cooperation, peace, and coexistence. In this regard, he wished the UAE further progress and prosperity.
At the meeting's conclusion, both parties reiterated their strong commitment to enhancing bilateral relations across economic, trade, investment, and developmental areas. They expressed their shared dedication to fostering mutually beneficial cooperation that bolsters sustainable development, security, and stability across the African continent.
The Prime Minister of Ethiopia hosted a lunch banquet to honour the President and the accompanying delegation.
The meeting and the banquet were attended by the accompanying delegation of the UAE President including His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court; H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Advisor for Special Affairs at the Presidential Court; Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs; Ali bin Hammad Al Shamsi, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for National Security; Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State; Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Mohamed Salem Al Rashdi, UAE Ambassador to Ethiopia; and other officials from the UAE side.
Demeke Mekonnen, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia; Muferihat Kamil, Minister of Labour and Skills Development of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Ahmed Shide, Ethiopia's Finance Minister; Abraham Belay, Minister of Defence; Aisha Mohammed, Minister of Irrigation and Lowland Areas Development; Melaku Alebel, Minister of Industry; Girma Amente, Minister of Agriculture of Ethiopia; Alemu Semie, Minister of Transport and Logistics of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; Alemtsehay Paulos, Cabinet Affairs Minister; Ambassador Misganu Arega, State Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a number of Ethiopian top officials were also present.
President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, accompanied by Abiy Ahmed, planted a tree in the Prime Minister's office garden.