Ethiopia Secures UK, Japanese Backing for Economic Reform and Development

Addis Ababa, October 18, 2025 (ENA)— Ethiopia's Finance Minister, Ahmed Shide, has successfully secured renewed commitments of support from both the United Kingdom and Japan for the country's ambitious economic reform and development agenda.

Ethiopian Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide met with UK State Minister, for International Development and Africa, Baroness Jenny Chapman, during the World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings to discuss strengthening the long-term partnership.

The focus was on continued UK support for Ethiopia's reform and development agenda, enhancing trade and investment, and boosting African voices in multilateral institutions.

During the meeting, Minister Ahmed provided an update on Ethiopia’s macroeconomic progress and emphasized the importance of UK scaling up its ongoing support across various sectors, including health, education, WASH, energy, manufacturing, humanitarian response and technical assistance in revenue mobilization and other reform areas.

On her part, Honorable Baroness Chapman appreciated the performance of the macroeconomic reform so far and reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to supporting Ethiopia’s economic development endeavors.

In related development, Finance Minister Ahmed Shide Engages with Senior Officials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Minister Ahmed Shide, met with Naoki Ando, Senior Vice President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and held constructive discussions covering a broad range of bilateral and development cooperation issues on the sidelines of the 2025 IMF–World Bank Annual Meetings.

During the discussion, Minister Ahmed acknowledged Japan’s longstanding partnership and critical support to Ethiopia’s development efforts over the years. He also underscored the importance of scaling up financing to better meet Ethiopia’s growing development needs, particularly in priority areas such as infrastructure, energy, and industrialization.

Ando reaffirmed JICA’s commitment to advancing its partnership with Ethiopia across key sectors of mutual interest, including investment promotion, private sector development, and industrial transformation.

Both sides expressed their shared commitment to further strengthen collaboration, including through budget support, the financing of impactful development projects, and the promotion of Japanese investments in Ethiopia.