ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- A high ranking Ethiopian official attending a manufacturing sector development-themed conference in Ethiopia has called for innovative solutions to exploit the country's potential in the sector.
This came during the UN Development Program (UNDP)'s 2023 Annual Development Conference, which was held under the theme "Can Ethiopia Become a Manufacturing Powerhouse" on Friday, explored Ethiopia's likelihood of transitioning from trading to manufacturing.
Ethiopia's State Minister of Industry Tarekegn Bululta said the country has huge potentials in the manufacturing sector, which include abundant labor force, available industrial parks, thriving local market, as well as logistics infrastructure, among others.
"Industrial development is at the center of Ethiopia's development policy. Huge investments in industrial parks, integrated industrial cluster, and infrastructure development such as in roads, railways and logistics have been made," the state minister said.
Noting conducive and enabling economic environment as well as good governance are key elements in attracting investments and formatting trade, Bululta said the Ethiopian government has created an enabling environment and policy frameworks to support the sector.
"The Ethiopian government is committed to creating a conducive and enabling environment to create a secure, stable and accessible investment environment for the private sector, both local and foreign, so that it plays a pivotal role in the country's economic development," he said.
UNDP's working paper on the manufacturing sector that was presented during the conference noted that Ethiopia has considerable potential to become a manufacturing power, able to export 10 billion U.S. dollars by 2030, and create many thousands of jobs.
