Slovakia plans to boost economic ties with Ethiopia

October 29, 2007 (BRATISLAVA) — Slovakia plans to improve its economic cooperation with Ethiopia. The Slovak Economy Ministry has already submitted for interdepartmental review a draft agreement on economic cooperation between the two countries.

“The Economy Ministry as a guarantor of all economic agreements, finds improvement of the legal framework between Slovakia and Ethiopia an important measure to support Slovakia’s export,” reads the ministry’s draft agreement, the Slovak news agency SITA reported today.

According to the Economy Ministry, economic-trade relations with Ethiopia are very promising. Slovakia could cooperate with Ethiopia mainly in the engineering industry, chemical, electrical-engineering glass and building industries.

Machines for rubber processing have dominated Slovakia’s exports to Ethiopia in last years. Other significant export items were rubber, plastics, chemical products and textiles.

Slovakia imported from Ethiopia mostly farm commodities, such as legumes, coffee, rice, rubber products and smaller volume of textiles. Slovakia’s imports from Ethiopia amounted to SKK 46 million last year.

The level of bilateral economic and trade cooperation is very low, which reflects in the volume of mutual trade and the number of commodity items. Nevertheless, bilateral trade reported growth between 2001 and 2006, which was chiefly caused by increase of Slovakia’s export, states the ministry.

(ST)