Ethiopia to Scrap Trade Barriers with Somalia, PM Abiy Says

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his country will abolish trade barriers with neighbor Somalia as part of an effort to create a single market in the Horn of Africa region.

Abiy, the first Ethiopian leader to visit in more than 40 years, made the comments Saturday at a joint media briefing with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo in the capital, Mogadishu.

The two leaders held talks on business, security, peace efforts and integration during Abiy’s four-hour stay in the city.

“We don’t want to hinder ideas to flow from each corner,” Abiy said. “It’s a future where we create a single market in our region, and it’s a future where we stimulate more production, innovation, and private enterprises both here in Mogadishu also in Ethiopia.”

Landlocked Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation and its fastest-growing economy, plans investment in four Somalian ports and in road networks that would link the countries, according to a statement issued by the two leaders.

Goobjoog News