Ethiopia Desirous of German State Technical Support

ENA November 28/2019 Ethiopia wants short-term technical training from the German State of Baden-Wurttemberg in order to promote technology and innovation, Science and Innovation Minister Getahun Mekuria said.

Opening the Ethiopia-Baden-Wurttemberg Economic Forum in Addis Ababa today, the minister said increasing production and productivity with the support of technology is important to ensure economic growth.

“We need to increase the revenue obtained from agriculture, service, and manufacturing sectors through technology,” he added.

According to him, there are 29 million students at various levels in Ethiopia and 69 percent of the population is under the age of 30.

Unemployment is therefore growing at alarming scale, Getahun noted, emphasizing the need to collaborate with Baden-Wurttemberg's large and small-scale enterprises to create more jobs and strengthen technology.

Baden Wurttemberg State Economic Affairs, Labour and Housing Minister, Nicole Hoffmeister said on her part Africa is a continent of opportunities and increasing strategic importance for the state.

The continent offers enormous investment potential which is still not being seized enough by BadenWurttemberg companies, she pointed out.

According to her, cooperation offers great opportunities for Africa to promote jobs and prosperity and to promote the continent in key issues of the future.

The minister is accompanied by 35 member delegation of companies, chamber organizations and direct sectors, in addition to automotive industry, environmental technology industry  selected as another center of focus of the trip.

“The broad interest of the participating companies shows the great willingness to share our know-how and to support African countries to improve living conditions and environmental protection,” Hoffmeister stated.

She said Ethiopia is one of the most attractive investment location in Africa.

The new prime minister (Abiy Ahmed) has created a hopeful sense of optimism among the population with economic reforms and peace agreements and was awarded the Nobel Prize this year, the minister further noted.

Besides, Ethiopia is considered as the economic powerhouse of East Africa, and cooperation should be needed in field of digitalization and environmental technology or innovation,  Hoffmeister underscored.

The State of Baden-Wuerttemberg is Europe’s most innovative region. In 2018, Baden-Wuerttemberg exported goods value of 203 billion Euros, a new record figure.