Current Date: 28 Mar, 2024

Ethiopian Airlines will begin flights from Karachi on March 26

Jemal Beker Abdula, Ethiopia's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Islamabad, announced that Ethiopian Airlines would start operating from Karachi on March 26.

Ambassador Abdula told Dawn that it was crucial to unite the two nations at this pivotal moment in history. According to him, Pakistan and Africa will be connected by the pan-African airline, which already serves 130 destinations.

Since he arrived in Pakistan as the country's first Ethiopian ambassador, Mr. Abdula has worked to strengthen interpersonal relationships.

In these difficult times, he claimed, Pakistan, like many other nations, faced difficulties in trade and business-related issues, mainly because of climate change, which was wreaking havoc.


However, the ambassador claimed that there were promising prospects for trade between the two nations because the business communities of Ethiopia and Pakistan were both eager to expand into one another's markets.

"For Pakistan, export is a crucial issue. To expand Pakistan's exports to the rest of the world, we need to collaborate with the government and other relevant institutions.

According to Mr Abdula, who has set a goal to grow trade volume between Ethiopia and Pakistan from roughly $80 million to $200 million, now is the ideal time for Pakistani business people to enter the market of Ethiopia.

This serves as a gateway to the entire continent of Africa and has a total population of about 1.4 billion in 54 countries. The ambassador also arranged for a Pakistan business delegation to visit Ethiopia from March 5 to 10 to investigate trade, investment, and business opportunities.

Over 100 representatives from Islamabad's business and industry chambers, Rawalpindi, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, and Sialkot, made up the delegation.

"We are exploring trade and investment opportunities in Ethiopia, an emerging African market. According to Mr. Abdula, it is a pivotal moment in the history of the two friendly nations.

He said he invited Pakistani business people to consider his country for enhancing trade, cheap energy, and an abundance of skilled labor.

He also mentioned that a supportive government is some of the factors essential for establishing businesses in Ethiopia, the world's fastest-growing economy for the last two decades.


Similarly, Ethiopia, which imports about 80% of pharmaceutical equipment worldwide and is an excellent market for Pakistani goods, has a considerable demand for pharmaceutical products. 

The business community's trip to Ethiopia will provide them with new opportunities for trade and investment in various economic sectors, including textile, pharmaceutical, rice, chemicals, steel, and cement. Pakistan could also import Ethiopian coffee, tea, pulses, oil seeds, and other agricultural products.

The envoy also invited Pakistanis to visit his nation to boost tourism as another way of fostering people-to-people ties. He claimed that Ethiopia was developing as a destination for Islamic travel and becoming more culturally and historically diverse.

Pakistan has made significant technological advancements in engineering, health, and textiles. After the embassy formally opens, they intend to sign agreements with the science and technology minister. Both parties have agreed upon drafts.

In addition, he said that a trade agreement would be signed next week to enable institutional linkages. The Ethiopian embassy will formally open in April. The occasion will be marked by the signing of memoranda of understanding (MoUs), further cementing ties between the two nations.

According to Ambassador Abdula, Ethiopia places a high value on its relations with Pakistan, as the two nations have a long history of cooperating for world peace." As a result, many things are taking place. 

Now is the ideal time to facilitate entry into the African market because there is an understanding between the two countries and business communities. We are discussing changing the two countries' respective trade compositions," he said.

Excellence Chukwuma Chukwunaedu

Excellence Chukwuma Chukwunaedu

I enjoy marketing, technology and business. I help businesses and brands connect with their ideal customer profiles and build products that excite them and solve their problems.