Council of Ministers Approves Digital Ethiopia 2030 Strategy

Addis Ababa, November 29, 2025 (ENA) — The Council of Ministers has passed key decisions aimed at accelerating economic growth and improving public services.

According to the Office of the Prime Minister, the session's primary focus was the Digital Ethiopia 2030 Strategy, which was presented to the Council for approval. This ambitious strategy is specifically designed to enhance new opportunities for citizens, build crucial technological capacity, expand essential infrastructure, strengthen good governance practices, and expedite the nation's overall economic growth and development.

Following a thorough discussion, the Council unanimously approved the strategy, mandating its immediate implementation starting from the date of its endorsement.

Next, the Council reviewed two loan agreements signed with the International Development Association (IDA).

The first agreement is a loan of 294,900,000 SDRs (Special Drawing Rights) earmarked for a program that will accelerate the transition to sustainable and clean energy access. This loan is structured to be repayable over a period of 38 years, which includes a six-year grace period.

The second agreement is for an additional loan of 20,000,000 SDRs dedicated to the East Africa Skills Transformation and Regional Integration Project. This facility is repayable over 31 years, also including a six-year grace period.

Both loans are interest-free, subject only to a 0.75 percent service charge. After confirming that these agreements are fully compliant with the national debt management strategy, the Council decided to forward them to the House of People's Representatives for final ratification.

Furthermore, the Council focused on enhancing the capacity and efficiency of government institutions by considering two draft regulations. The drafts propose to set service fees for various services provided by the Environmental Protection Authority and the Ethiopian National Theater. The main objective of these regulations is to enable the institutions to cover their operational costs and boost their internal revenue, thereby improving the quality of service and enhancing customer satisfaction.

The proposed service fee tariffs were prepared to be proportionate to the capacity of the beneficiaries. The Council unanimously approved the draft regulations, which will take effect upon their publication in the Federal Negarit Gazette.

In a move to strengthen international security and legal cooperation, the Council debated four bilateral agreements. These included mutual collaboration agreement with the Government of China concerning criminal matters, as well as separate extradition agreements with the China and Brazil.

Additionally, an extradition treaty with the Government of South Africa was passed. The Council recognized that ratifying these agreements would create a robust legal framework for effective bilateral cooperation in crime prevention. Consequently, the Council unanimously voted to send the corresponding draft proclamations to the House of People's Representatives for endorsement.

The final regulatory topics addressed by the Council of Ministers included the draft regulation for Electronic Signature and a proposed amendment to the Immigration regulation approved earlier by the Council of Ministers.

The Electronic Signature regulation is a crucial step toward fully operationalizing Proclamation No. 1072/2017 (and its amendment) by establishing a clear and accountable system for its implementation.

The Immigration amendment, on the other hand, is designed to enable the institution to effectively carry out the duties and responsibilities assigned to it by law.

Both the Electronic Signature regulation and the Immigration amendment were unanimously approved and will be effective upon their publication in the Federal Negarit Gazette.