Addis Ababa, Ethiopia July 5, 2016:- On June 23, the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, Patricia Haslach joined Minister of Finance and Economic Cooperation Abdulaziz Mohammed to co-chair the 8th Bilateral Economic Working Group. The Working Group provides an opportunity for representatives of the U.S. government and the government of Ethiopia to review the full range of bilateral economic and commercial issues. The meeting followed the 3rd Financing for Development Conference, the visit by President Obama, the launch of the Growth and Transformation Plan II, the Corporate Council on Africa U.S.-Africa Business Summit, and registration of the American Chamber of Commerce.
The discussion at this Working Group addressed a broad range of issues, including Commercial Code reform, domestic resource mobilization, intellectual property rights protection, export credit guarantees, and the impact of the new Cybercrime legislation on the business climate, among others.
The government of Ethiopia provided an update on its accession to the World Trade Organization and the status of the AGOA Center. The government of the United States provided an overview of Power Africa and USAID programmatic engagements and humanitarian assistance.
At the conclusion of the meeting the two governments agreed to increase the frequency with which this forum is held.
