Director of the Ethiopian Investment Commission: looking forward to more investment from the "the Belt and Road"
2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the the Belt and Road Initiative. A few days ago, the large-scale transnational financial media reporting activity of "the Belt and Road" of People's Daily Online went to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, and interviewed the director of the Ethiopian Investment Commission, Les Naim. Lelis stated that Ethiopia has implemented various measures to attract foreign investment and highlighted priority areas to encourage more Chinese enterprises to invest in Ethiopia.
"Our research data indicates that a large amount of Chinese investment is flowing to Ethiopia," Lailis told People's Daily Online reporters. In the future, Chinese companies can prioritize five industries for investment in Ethiopia, namely manufacturing, agriculture, mining, information and communication technology, and tourism.
She stated that the Ethiopian government has implemented multiple measures to attract foreign investment, including the construction of over 30 industrial parks, providing one-stop services, priority area regulations, and non physical incentives such as tax exemption for building materials and talent supply.
Laili is interviewed by Tang Weihong, a journalist from People's Daily Online. Photo by Liu Ning, a journalist from People's Daily Online
The Oriental Industrial Park, located in Dukam, Ethiopia, was founded by a Chinese private enterprise and currently has 140 enterprises entering the park. Lailis introduced that the Oriental Industrial Park has created over 20000 job opportunities and attracted a large amount of investment. "This has driven Ethiopia's economic development and created more employment opportunities for our people."
![Director of the Ethiopian Investment Commission: looking forward to more investment from the "the Belt and Road"](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/2e2f7c7396f441897774c5cdd99c7904.jpg)
Currently, Ethiopia is promoting the implementation of the "Ethiopia: A Lighthouse of African Prosperity" development plan for the next decade. Lailis believes that in order to achieve this goal, Ethiopia needs to attract more investment. "Many areas in Ethiopia have enormous investment potential, and Chinese companies are welcome to pay attention and learn more."
Lailis also praised the important contributions made by Chinese investors and enterprises to the economic development and social progress of Ethiopia. "My favorite thing about Chinese companies is that they always find solutions to problems. They are not afraid of challenges and actively solve problems."
When talking about the "the Belt and Road" initiative, Reilly stressed that Ethiopia has benefited a lot in the past few years, including the construction of important infrastructure. "I hope that the 'the Belt and Road' can bring more investment to Ethiopia, especially in infrastructure construction; I hope this initiative can further deepen the bilateral relations between China and Ethiopia, attract Chinese investment, create employment opportunities, and strengthen cultural exchanges between the two sides."
Lailis, Wan Qiaoyun, China Investment Advisor of the Ethiopian Investment Commission, and a reporter from People's Daily Online took a group photo.