EU's Global Gateway, Homegrown Reform Agenda Complementary: HPR Standing Committee Chair

Addis Ababa, Sep 1, 2026 (ENA) — Ethiopia’s Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda and the European Union’s Global Gateway initiative are complementary frameworks that can foster sustainable economic partnership, House of People's Representatives Foreign Relations and Peace Affairs Standing Committee Chairperson Dima Noggo said.

The Chairperson made the remark while opening a dialogue organized by the Institute of Foreign Affairs (IFA) and the European Union in Ethiopia under the theme, “Strategic Partnerships for Transformation: The EU Global Gateway and Ethiopia’s Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda.”

The two frameworks together demonstrate that effective partnership goes beyond the transfer of resources and require genuine alignment of priorities, purpose and responsibility, he said.

Under the Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda II, the country has pursued macroeconomic stabilization, liberalized key sectors, modernized public institutions and worked to create an investment environment in which confidence is rewarded with opportunity.

“The Government of Ethiopia has taken difficult but necessary decisions,” according to Dima, who noted that the country has undertaken currency exchange reforms, strengthened fiscal discipline and opened sectors that had long been protected from competition.

These measures are aimed at laying a solid foundation for broad-based and durable prosperity through a private sector-driven, digitally enabled and industrially competitive economy.

The Chairperson underscored that no country can transform its economy in isolation, emphasizing Ethiopia’s continued commitment to substantive partnerships with international partners.

The complementarity between the Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda and EU’s Global Gateway is rooted in a shared conviction that development should be sustainable, partnerships transparent and mutually beneficial, and investments geared toward strengthening local capacity, Dima stated.

The alignment between Ethiopia’s reform priorities and international partnership frameworks can help translate investment and cooperation into sustainable economic transformation, the Chairperson added.

Addressing the occasion, Head of Partnership and Minister Counselor at the EU delegation to Ethiopia, Daniel Hachez, said Global Gateway is designed to support partner countries' own development priorities.

Ethiopia is advancing its Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda II, a comprehensive reform framework aimed at addressing macroeconomic imbalances, moving from a public-led to a market-oriented economy, accelerating structural transformation, and strengthening the private sector.

The complementarity between Ethiopia's reform priorities and the Global Gateway are significant as both place emphasis on sustainable development, Sustainable Development Goals that can hopefully be achieved by 2030, Hachez said.

According to him, the European Union sees Ethiopia as a strategic partner. "We believe that by aligning the Global Gateway with Ethiopia's reform agenda, we can help lay the groundwork for a stronger, more resilient, and more competitive economy, while also contributing to the wider regional connectivity."

He reaffirmed the European Union's commitment to work with Ethiopia in a spirit of partnership, shared ownership and mutual respect with the target of deepening the cooperation.

Deputy Executive Director at the Institute of Foreign Affairs (IFA), Mohammedrafi Abaraya, for his part said Ethiopia and the European Union share longstanding historical and diplomatic ties.

Relations between the two have expanded beyond diplomacy to encompass development cooperation, trade, and investment, peace and security, humanitarian assistance, research and institutional collaboration, he elaborated.

Since Ethiopia embarked on its reform journey in 2018, the European Union has remained an important partner in supporting the country's development and reform priorities as the European Union Global Gateway offers a significant opportunity to further deepen this partnership, Mohammedrafi noted.