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The Africa Fair Trade Convention is being held in Addis Ababa according to the Fair Trade Africa. The convention is being held over a period four days under the theme of ‘Equal Trade, Equal Development: Strengthening the Position of Producers in the Value Chain’ said the AFT.

The convention is the first of its kind to be held in Eastern Africa noted the organizers. The four day session will include more than thirty speakers who will present their papers on sustainable chains towards improving livelihood, the role of value chains to transform smallholding agricultural practices as well as other related topics.

It is expected that domestic coffee exporters and other stakeholders would attend the convention while 13 organic coffee exhibitions are prepared as part of the convention schedule it was announced.

Ethiopian Airlines launched thrice weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia from its base in Addis Ababa and flying through Bangkok.

The first Ethiopian Airlines flight arrived in Kuala Lumpur to warm welcome from Malaysian officials according to sources. The weekly flights will run on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday.

The new flights to Kuala Lumpur are intended to connect Malaysian businesses to the significant opportunities available in Africa said Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive of the airlines.

Ethiopian Airlines has been recognized as the ‘African Airline of the Year’ by the African Travel Quarterly magazine it announced.
The airline received the award at an event held in Lagos, Nigeria during the Akwaaba: African Travel Market Exhibition.

Ethiopian Airlines was recognized for the excellence of its service and its pioneering acts in the aviation industry in Africa as evidenced by its introduction of the continents first 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

The airline has managed to bridge the continent and made Africa proud in the past year through its efforts to open new routes and facilitating integration regionally and continentally according to the organizers of the award ceremony.

The Federal tax structure of Ethiopia has collected 22.2 billion birr in the first quarter according to source with the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority. The revenue raised from federal taxes in the first quarter is higher than the 21.5 billion birr projected by the authority for the reporting period.

The revenue collected at the federal level this quarter makes up 22% of the 101 billion birr that the authority has targeted to collect in the current financial year.

The federal taxation system includes income from customs and duties, domestic taxes and the national lottery system. The national lottery and customs contributed less than anticipated amounts of revenue according to sources.