EU, Ethiopia to boost bilateral relations

EU President Herman Van Rompuy met here Wednesday Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and discussed with him bilateral ties and regional issues. "Both the European Union and Ethiopia see the value of further deepening our political and trade relations as well as tackling wider regional security challenges," Van Rompuy told reporters after the meeting. They also talked about a number of regional issues related to the situation in the Horn of Africa region, including the situation in Somalia. "We agreed that we must all work towards a new future in regional relations, building a new atmosphere of economic integration and security cooperation," he said. Van Rompuy noted that since Ethiopia holds the 2013 chairmanship of the African Union, the meeting also covered EU-African Union relations and in particular the preparation of the next EU-AU Summit in 2014. He stated that the EU is by far the most important trade partner for Ethiopia with over 40% of Ethiopia's exports going to Europe. The EU is an important investor with 300 European companies active in Ethiopia. The EU is also the biggest aid donor commitments totalling around 1 billion euro per year. On his part, Desalegn said his visit to Brussels was the first visit outside his country since he assumed his post. "EU is our major strategic partner," he stressed and added that they have agreed to work on democratisation and promotion of human rights in Ethiopia.