Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Officially opened its representative office in Addis Ababa on Thursday May 9, 2013. Yaekob Yalla, State Minister of Trade said, the opening of the representative office will further strengthen the long standing business and people-to-people relations with the Middle East.

According to Yaekob, frequent visits have been made by senior government officials from the two countries in the previous years to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

"The opening of this International Representative Office of DCCI in Addis Ababa also shows the degree of commitment of Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to substantially and harmoniously develop and diversify trade and investment among the two sisterly countries", Yaekob said.

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Direcor Gneral, Hamad Buamim also indicated that the opening of the office is the culmination of a two year effort. He siad the , the opening of the representative office is the first step toward bringing the UAE and Ethiopia, as well as the whole African continent together.

Yaekob also added a balanced trade ties must be maintained between the two countries by allowing Ethiopian products to enter the UAE market. Trade volume between the two countries has reached $307.4 million in 2012.

UAE investors in Ethiopia are engaged in manufacturing, real estate, agriculture and other sectors.

Source: Ethiopian Herald