Addis Ababa, 17 February 2024 – UNIDO Director General Gerd Müller visited the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to kick-off new flagship initiatives and to participate in the 37th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of the African Union (AU) held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa.

Mr. Müller held bilateral meetings with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Mr. Abiy Ahmed, the AU Commissioner for Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Mining, Mr. Albert Muchanga, the Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy Ms. Amani Abou-Zeid as well as the Ethiopian Minister of Industry, Mr. Melaku Alebel and the Minister of Planning and Development, Ms. Fitsum Assefa.

In his meeting with the Ethiopian Prime Minister, the Director General commended the Prime Minister for the excellent cooperation and thanked him for his unwavering support for the Organization of the upcoming “World without Hunger” conference in Ethiopia and for presenting the initiative at the Assembly of the AU Heads of State and Government for endorsement of the Conference. Moreover, a joint declaration for tripartite cooperation with the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) and Ethiopia on the establishment of a pilot Centre of Excellence on Agro-technology, Renewable Energy and Digitalization (CAREDA) in Ethiopia as well as a joint declaration to bolster the Global Development Initiative (GDI) together with China were signed.

Meetings with AU Commissioners

UNIDO Director General Müller also met with AU Commissioner Mr.  Muchanga. Mr. Müller thanked him for the strong support for UNIDO’s involvement in the development and implementation of the EU Trade Competitiveness and Market Access Programme as well as for the co-organization with AUC of the “World without Hunger” conference in Addis Ababa.

Director General Müller highlighted that “the AU is a very important partner for UNIDO. Together, we are working on bringing innovative solutions and technology to all of Africa, with a particular focus on Least Developed Countries. We are looking forward to further strengthening our cooperation, and expanding our portfolio in Africa - which already represents more than fifty percent of UNIDO’s work worldwide”. Highlighting the importance and specificity of the “World without Hunger” conference, Müller announced that UNIDO will present a new study outlining both the financial investments required and the innovations needed to end hunger globally at the conference. Investors from all over the world will be convened at the Conference.

Discussions with AU Commissioner for Energy and Infrastructure, Ms. Amani Abou-Zeid focused on current and future cooperation on AU strategies including the Continental Master Plan (CMP) for electricity generation and transmission, the AU Digital Agriculture Strategy (DAS) and Implementation Plan 2024-2030, the AU AI Strategies, and AU Strategy for Green Hydrogen. Müller congratulated the Commissioner for the achievements so far and stressed UNIDO’s readiness to support the development and implementation of the relevant strategic instruments in all the sectors, considering the nature of UNIDO activities geared towards implementation. In this regard, the Director General and the Commissioner agreed to strengthen the cooperation through the immediate organization of technical meetings between both teams, especially in order to mobilize other investors and partners.