To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Ethiopia, CCPIT Sichuan Council and Consulate General of Ethiopia in Chongqing jointly held the "2020 Ethiopia - Sichuan Business Communication Forum" in the conference room of CCPIT Sichuan Council on December 28. Mrs. Huang Li, President of CCPIT Sichuan Council, and Mr. Anteneh Tariku, Consul General of Ethiopian Consulate General in Chongqing attended and addressed the forum. Representatives of 13 Sichuan enterprises from agricultural machinery, automobiles, garments, building materials and other industries who are interested in conducting trade and investment cooperation with Africa attended the forum. Mr. Fan Jun, Vice President of CCPIT Sichuan Council, presided over the forum.

Mrs. Huang Li (second from right), President of CCPIT Sichuan Council addressed the Forum

In her speech, President Mrs. Huang Li thanked the Ethiopian Consulate General in Chongqing and Sichuan entrepreneurs for their long-term support to CCPIT Sichuan Council. She pointed out that similar to China, Ethiopia also has a long history with long-standing culture, and both countries have common development aspirations and tasks. In recent years, as the fastest-growing economy in Africa, Ethiopia and China have established a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership; two-way cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful results. Sichuan and Ethiopia have a good foundation for cooperation. The industrial development of the two sides is complementary, the cooperation space is vast and the potential is huge. As a trade and investment promotion department under the leadership of Sichuan provincial party committee and government, CCPIT Sichuan Council will continue to play its role as a bridge and link, seize major national strategic opportunities for development, help enterprises enter Ethiopia, organize more economic and trade activities, and promote two-way trade and investment cooperation.

In his speech, Consul General Anteneh pointed out that over the half a century since the establishment of China – Ethiopia diplomatic ties, traditional friendship of the two countries has been getting stronger. He emphasized that especially in the recent 25 years, China has become Ethiopia's No. 1 sources of investment, No. 1 sources of imports and No. 1 sources of exports. Hope that more Sichuan enterprises will set their sights on Ethiopia, the "Land of Hope".

Site of 2020 Ethiopia – Sichuan Business Communication Forum

At the forum, Ethiopian consulate general introduced Ethiopia's investment environment and opportunities to the participating companies, and the companies shared their experiences in investing in Ethiopia. This forum is a dialogue and exchange activity for enterprises in Sichuan province to directly communicate with consulate officials to learn about the latest policy information and trade and investment environment of key target markets of the “Belt and Road”, aiming to solve practical problems for enterprises more accurately and practically. In the next step, the CCPIT Sichuan Council will continue to strengthen cooperation with foreign (overseas) business organizations, and jointly provide Sichuan enterprises with opportunities and platforms to understand and explore overseas markets.

President Huang Li, Consul General Anteneh with all attendees

Mr. Aragaw Tilahun, Commercial Consul of Ethiopian Consulate General in Chongqing and Head of International Relations Department, CCPIT Sichuan attended the forum.