State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dewano Kedir, met on Thursday (October 31) with a Russian delegation headed by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, Mr. Ilia Shestakov.
The two ministers discussed on agricultural cooperation within the framework of the outcome of the G8 group meeting and the new "alliance for food security and nutrition in Africa". Mr. Shestakov, who also met with Minister of Agriculture, Tefera Deribew, during his visit, explained details of the planned agro-machinery park to be built in Ethiopia by the Russian Government.
This, he said, would be would be helpful in providing consultancy and supplies of machinery for the support farmer's unions which are composed of small-farm holders. The Deputy Minister added that the project will be of great importance overall in modernizing agriculture, improving productivity, transferring technology, delivering agricultural equipment and training agricultural specialists. State Minister Dewano explained Ethiopia's agricultural policy, focusing on areas where cooperation with Russia is most needed.
The State Minister noted that this cooperation can help Ethiopia's efforts to ensure food security as well as increase exports of agricultural products and in particular possibility of exporting horticultural products to Russia. In addition to agricultural cooperation and trade, the State Minister stressed that Russian investors could take advantage of Ethiopia's investment incentives, its wide market and its fast-developing infrastructure.
The State Minister underlined the historic and cordial relationship between the two countries, and was pleased to be able to tell the Russian delegation that a site in Addis Ababa was now ready to erect a monument to Alexander Pushkin. Pushkin, a great Russian author and poet, is believed to have been of Ethiopian descent, and he is, the State Minister added, a symbol of the close and long standing relationship between the two countries.