The agreement requires the holding of a joint trade committee every two years alternatively in Addis Ababa and New Delhi.  So far,  we already had the 4th Joint Trade. The two countries have agreed in principle to upgrade the joint trade committee to that of joint commission in the near future.

Til May 2006, 184 private Indian companies have obtained investment approvals from the Ethiopian Investment Agency, with a total capital of close to half a billion dollar.  Many of these are already in operation or at a project implementation stage. These cover different sectors like pharmaceuticals and health care, agriculture and floriculture engineering, plastics, consultancy, ICT, water management, cotton and textile, leather, education, hotel and restaurant services, vehicle rentals. However, Indian Businesses are encouraged further to take advantage of the investment opportunities in the following areas:

A. Agriculture and agro-industrial processing:

• Production and processing of crops, including oil bearing crops, cotton and other agricultural products, plantation and production of cash crops, particularly coffee and tea, production and processing of fruits and vegetables and horticultural products, production and processing of livestock and poultry, development of fisheries, production and processing of commercial forestry and by products there of and other projects in the sector to be identified by potential investors.

B. Manufacturing:

• Food and beverage industries, including breweries, starch and glucose compel, baby food unit etc, automotive industry, including production of components and spare parts, textiles and textile products and garments, leather and leather products, fertilizers (mini-plant) and chemicals, drugs and pharmaceuticals, paper and paper products, electrical goods and light electrical products, production of selected items of machineries and equipments including components and spares, building materials, synthetic products, plastic and rubber products, glass and ceramics, including sheet glasses, electronic products and components and other projects in this sector to be identified by potential investors.

C. Services:

• International marketing and distribution of local products and services, large scale construction, construction and management of international hotels and resort facilities, and other areas to be identified by potential investors.

Visa Service:
Indians interested to go to Ethiopia can secure visa within a day. A multiple entry visa serving upto one year is also given to those who have business interest in Ethiopia.

Currency:
The monetary unit of Ethiopia currency is the “Birr”, with a par value of 8.86 = USD 1.00 (July, 2006).