Ethiopia and Israel sign various agreements to bolster ties

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

July 7, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopia and Israel on Thursday signed a number of agreements to further bolster bilateral ties between the two countries to a higher level.

The two nations also signed, among others, Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on science and technology, tourism, agriculture and capacity building, among other undertakings.

Both sides, officials said, further agreed to work together on peace and security, including cyber security.

The agreements were signed after Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn and his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu held discussions on a range of issues in the capital, Addis Ababa.

Speaking during a joint news conference held in Addis Ababa on Thursday, both Desalegn and the Israeli prime minister agreed to work together towards further enhancing their long multilateral ties.

The Ethiopian prime minister, for instance said the Horn of Africa country, had a lot to learn from the rich experiences of Israel on Science and technology, which particularly supports the agricultural sector.

“Agriculture is the back bone of Ethiopia’s economy so we want to modernize our agricultural sector”, he said.

Both nations, Desalegn said, agreed to cooperate on capacity building, transferring technology and sharing experiences as well as best practices.

Netanyahu said Israel would extend the necessary support and share its best practices with Ethiopia.

“We have planned to be the technology power house of the world”, stressed the Israeli prime minister, adding “We need to share our experiences to countries like Ethiopia”.

Israel is due to share with Ethiopia experiences on areas of space science, bio-science and nanotechnology.

The Israeli prime minister, during his visit to Addis Ababa, also held talks with the Ethiopian president, Mulatu Teshome at the national palace, where they discussed matters on bilateral and regional concerns.

Terrorism, the state television said, topped the visit to Addis Ababa of the Israeli prime minister. The two nations agreed to jointly battle terror threats, particularly those posed by the Somalia’s Al-Shabaab.

Netanyahu’s four-nation tour of the continent earlier saw him visit Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya.

(ST)