Ethiopia, UAE to Expand Cooperation in Agricultural Value Addition

Addis Ababa, July 29, 2025 (ENA) – On the sidelines of the UN Food Systems Summit +4 Stocktake in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s Minister of Agriculture, Girma Amante, met with Amna Aldahak, UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment, to discuss strengthening collaboration in agriculture and food systems value chains.

Minister Girma highlighted the strategic importance of agriculture for Ethiopia’s food security, the Green Legacy initiative—which has seen billions of trees planted—and the country’s growing exports of coffee and meat to the Middle East.

He noted ongoing discussions with the Khalifa Foundation to begin date (temir) production in Ethiopia, with a joint meeting planned for August in Ethiopia and the UAE.

 

UAE Minister, for her part, emphasized the strong strategic ties between Ethiopia and the UAE across multiple sectors.

She underlined the opportunity to deepen cooperation in areas such as agricultural investment, packaging, value addition, and public-private partnerships, aiming to ensure sustainable development and attract further investors to Ethiopia.

Additionally, Minister Girma announced that Ethiopia has signed an agreement with Italy under the Mattei Plan to boost value chains and reduce the vulnerability of coffee producers—an initiative that will be implemented in both Ethiopia and Uganda.