Ethiopia and Italy signed a three-year 2013-2015) cooperation framework agreement amounting to 98.9 million Euros on 30 May, 2013, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The agreement will focus on agriculture, rural development, and provision of basic services.

Finance and Economic Development State Minister Ahmed Shide and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy Lapo Pistelli signed the agreement.

Some 65 million Euros of the stated amount is in the form of soft loan and the balance in grant, according to Ahmed.

The Italian government provided nearly 50 million Euros to finance implementation of the previous three-year (2009-2011) cooperation framework signed in 2009.

Source: Walta