Vietnam - Ethiopia signed a trade cooperation agreement

At the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and his wife paid an official visit to Vietnam and attended the 4th Summit of the Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) in Hanoi from April 15-17, 2025.

Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien participated in many activities within the framework of the program to welcome the Ethiopian Prime Minister and his wife. Specifically, the Minister attended the official welcoming ceremony; attended the talks between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali; attended with General Secretary To Lam the reception of the Ethiopian Prime Minister...

MOU signing ceremony on trade cooperation between Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade and Ethiopia's Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration. Photo: Nhat Bac/VGP

Notably, right after the talks between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, on the afternoon of April 15, in the presence of the two countries' Prime Ministers, Minister Nguyen Hong Dien and Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos Hessebon signed a Memorandum of Understanding on trade cooperation.

This is an important document, defining the goals, scope, fields, cooperation activities, and methods of coordination to implement cooperation between the two sides in the field of trade.

According to the Department of Foreign Market Development, located in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia is a potential market with a large economy and population of about 130 million people, the second most populous country in Africa.

In recent years, Ethiopia's economy has grown at a high and relatively stable rate, considered a bright spot in economic development in Africa. Ethiopia is the country with the highest economic growth rate on the continent, reaching an average of 9% in the 2011-2019 period and more than 6% in the 2020-2024 period. In 2024, Ethiopia's economic growth will reach 8.2%.

Ethiopia is currently the largest economy in East Africa and the fifth largest in Africa. In the period 2021 - 2023, Ethiopia's total import-export turnover fluctuated between 18 and 21 billion USD. Ethiopia has many minerals (gold, platinum, lithium, tantalum, potash, base metals), has local raw materials (agricultural products, leather, cotton, etc.) and abundant human resources. Ethiopia is one of the largest coffee producers in Africa and the fifth largest producer of Arabica coffee in the world.

Trade between Vietnam and Ethiopia is still modest, compared to the potential of the two markets with a total population of up to 230 million people. In the period from 2019 to 2024, trade turnover between the two countries tends to increase, from 10.1 million USD in 2019 to 13.2 million USD in 2024.

The structure of exchanged goods is complementary. Vietnam's exports to Ethiopia mainly include plastic products, electrical machinery and equipment, mechanical equipment, chemicals... and imports from Ethiopia mainly include coffee, fabric, cotton, textile and footwear materials, chemical products, oilseeds, sesame seeds, soybeans...

The structure of export goods between Vietnam and Ethiopia is less competitive and complementary to each other, therefore, the signing of a memorandum of understanding on trade cooperation between the two countries will be a great driving force, promoting bilateral cooperation activities.

Hoang Giang

Source: https://congthuong.vn/viet-nam-ethiopia-ky-ket-hop-tac-ve-thuong-mai-383518.html