European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs met the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and other members of the national government in Addis Ababa by the end of January, in a round of meetings which provided an opportunity to further strengthen EU development cooperation with Ethiopia, an important regional partner to the EU and recipient of the single largest share of EU aid. In his visit to the country Commissioner Piebalgs explored ways to support the government's five-year "Growth and transformation" national strategy and signed an agreement for the implementation of the Global Climate Change Alliance in Ethiopia.

Discussions have been focused on Ethiopia's new drive to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and economic growth. In 2010, the Ethiopian government adopted a five-year national strategy, the Growth and Transformation Plan, which aims to ensure high annual growth rates and progress on the MDGs, particularly in health, education and access to water. This national strategy will be an opportunity for the EU to intensify and focus policy dialogue on key reform issues, such as the implementation of a new industrial policy or the modernisation of the national banking system.

In this respect, the Commissioner also visited the Exchange Commodity Board and met with representatives of the business community.

Signing of project to fight Climate change

Commissioner Andris Piebalgs and Sufian Ahmed, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, signed a grant agreement of over 13.7 million euro for the implementation of the Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA) in Ethiopia. The main objective of the programme is to contribute to a carbon neutral and climate resilient economy. This project will be implemented in several watersheds alongside the Nile Basin. An estimated of 110,000 households in these five regions are expected to benefit from this. This will be done through:

• Institutional support to policies and programmes, mainly benefitting the Environment Protection Agency.
• Raising stakeholders’ awareness on climate change issues and enhancing their knowledge.
• Identifying and testing climate change practices in specific areas.