A high level delegation from Kenya will arrive in Addis Abeba this week on a three day trade mission to Ethiopia. Organised with the Kenya Association of Manufacturers, (KAM) and the Kenyan Embassy in Ethiopia, the delegation will comprise 40 senior government officials and captains of Industry. The goal is to seek closer business, political, and cultural ties between the two countries. Several Strategic industrial sectors will be represented in the trip and include food & beverage, metal, building & construction, and Paper.

Trade volumes between Ethiopia and Kenya reached close to 60 million dollars in 2012. Ethiopia's imports from Kenya in 2012 were worth 55.9 million dollars. The country in turn exported goods worth 4.3 million dollars to Kenya.

The visit is the first visit since the two countries signed a special status agreement last year which now allows Kenyan firms to start businesses in Ethiopia, and cargo to move freely between the two countries. The agreement also enabled Moyale town to operate as a one-stop post for goods crossing the border.

Ethiopia also agreed to eliminate non-trade barriers for Kenyan companies by giving land on a lease basis, tax holidays and non-collateral bank loans making it very attractive to investors.

Court Sentences Criminal to Six Years of Imprisonment

The First Instance Criminal Bench of the Federal High Court sentenced former employee of the Ethiopian Airlines, Fraol Birasa, to six years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him 10, 000 Br for breach of trust on July 18, 2013.

According to the charge pressed against the offender by the Federal Ethics & Anti-Corruption Commission (FEACC), the accused embezzled 5,805 dollars which he collected from two airlines in return for the irregular airport service that the latter received.

As a former customers' service agent of the Ethiopian Airlines, Fraol had a duty to collect the money paid in exchange for the service rendered and transfer it to the lawful owner, the Ethiopian Airlines. Instead, what he did was spend the money in breach of trust for his own personal benefits.

The Court, thus, found him guilty of breach of trust and handed him the sentence, in addition to the 10,000 Br fine.