Ethiopia Experiencing Remarkable Economic Progress: Planning & Development Minister

Addis Ababa: Ethiopia has been registering remarkable economic strides by overcoming the challenges it faced since the reform, Planning and Development Minister Fitsum Assefa said. Briefing the media, the minister noted that the nation focused on multi-sectoral sources of growth during the reform period.

According to Ethiopian News Agency, the economic progress has been registered by overcoming challenges, withstanding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, climate change, and security issues, she added. And this has placed Ethiopia among countries that have shown substantial progress globally in recent years. The minister stated that the country has become the first in East Africa, the third in Sub-Saharan Africa, and the fifth-largest economy in Africa.

The macroeconomic imbalances were corrected by the national reform, and revenue has increased significantly. The minister, who noted that the country had been debt-ridden, said Ethiopia has now taken a firm stand to take any commercial lo
an. The nation has paid back a 10-billion USD loan over the past five years by enhancing its income-generating capacity, she added. As a result, the debt to GDP ratio, which was 30 percent before the reform, has declined to 13.7 percent.

Fitsum further pointed out that Ethiopia has witnessed a rise in foreign direct investment, averaging over 3 billion USD annually. She also stated that the country has registered remarkable growth in various development sectors, particularly in cultivating wheat through irrigation, the “Bounty of Basket”, mining, tourism, manufacturing, and the expansion of tourism infrastructure.

A comprehensive macroeconomic reform aimed at building a modern economy that can compete on a global scale has been implemented in the country since July 2024, the minister revealed. Besides, the reform has enabled a smooth flow of foreign currency distribution across the economy and banks buying more foreign currency than selling over the last six months. Moreover, a stable foreign exchange marke
t has been created by narrowing exchange gaps between the legal and the parallel market, the minister said.

Furthermore, the government has been making the necessary preparations and implementing measures to withstand pressures that would arise following the comprehensive macroeconomic reform. In this respect, Fitsum pointed out that the government has allocated 400 billion Birr for salary, fuel, fertilizer, and other subsidies to support low-income households and individuals from adverse effects of macroeconomic reform measures.