Italian cooperation

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic, Luigi Di Maio, the Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide, in the presence of the Ambassador of Italy to Ethiopia, Agostino Palese and the AICS (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation) Head of Office of Addis Abeba, Isabella Lucaferri signed a bilateral agreement for the “Building integrated agro-industrial parks in Oromia, Amhara, SNNPR and Tigray” initiative.
The signing of the agreement gives way to the subsidised loan of 22 million euros to the Ethiopian government through which the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation supports the creation of integrated agro-industrial parks in Ethiopia.
Agriculture remains the main production sector in Ethiopia, and the transition from a traditional production model to a more business-oriented one – based on market demand – is essential to meet the needs of the growing local agri-food industry and the demand of consumers, both in the country and abroad.
The agro-industrial parks, envisaged by the initiative, are designed to be integrated into the territory. This means that parks aim to contribute to value addition and local development, as well as to positively impact the economy of rural areas and the growing rural-urban migration phenomenon.