China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Annual Conference will be held in Beijing from October 17-19, 2023.
Many world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, are heading to Beijing to attend the summit.
The Prime Minister’s Office has announced that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is headed to China to participate in this conference.
China is one of the main lenders to Ethiopia, especially for airport expansion, and road and dry port development.
After the Ethiopian economy was affected by the war and COVID-19, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government is under debt pressure and is asking for an extension of the loan repayment period.
China has extended Ethiopia’s loan repayment period by one year, and the same discussions are being held with the World Bank and the IMF.
According to the National Bank, Ethiopia has a foreign debt of $28 billion and has the highest debt burden.
The Ministry of Finance has announced that the war in three regions in northern Ethiopia, Tigray Amhara and Afar regions, has caused an estimated loss of more than 1.5 trillion birr to the country.
According to the Minister of Finance, Ahmed Shide, the total economic loss due to the war in the northern areas of Ethiopia became $28 billion.
Ethiopia is negotiating with the World Bank for an additional $12 billion loan and is fulfilling the conditions set by the World Bank.
