Ethiopia to Scrap Trade Barriers With Somalia, Leader Abiy Says

(Bloomberg) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said his country will abolish trade barriers with neighbor Somalia as part of an effort to create a single market in the Horn of Africa region.

Abiy, the first Ethiopian leader to visit in more than 40 years, made the comments Saturday at a joint media briefing with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo in the capital, Mogadishu. The two leaders held talks on business, security, peace efforts and integration during Abiy’s four-hour stay in the city.

“We don’t want to hinder ideas to flow from each corner,” Abiy said. “It’s a future where we create a single market in our region, and it’s a future where we stimulate more production, innovation, and private enterprises both here in Mogadishu also in Ethiopia.”

Landlocked Ethiopia, Africa’s second-most populous nation and its fastest-growing economy, plans investment in four Somalian ports and in road networks that would link the countries, according to a statement issued by the two leaders.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mohamed Sheikh Nor in Mogadishu at msheikhnor@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, John Viljoen, Steve Geimann

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