Ethiopian Airlines to connect Dubin and Addis Ababa

An agreement signed on behalf of the Irish and Ethiopian governments yesterday has cleared the way for the first scheduled flights to take place between Ireland and the African continent. The transport agreement will facilitate direct flights by Ethiopian Airlines from Addis Ababa to Los Angeles, with a stopover in Dublin.

It was one of three bilateral agreements signed yesterday in Addis Ababa during the visit of President Michael D Higgins to Ethiopia with Minister for Development and Trade Promotion Seán Sherlock. The other two agreements concerned double taxation, under which employees in either country will only have to pay taxes in the country where they work, as well as an agreement on development co-operation.

Mr Sherlock said: "The transport agreement involving scheduled flights from Ireland to Addis Ababa will open up a potential market of over 1.1 billion people and considerably improve business and trade opportunities between Ireland and Africa. "

The double taxation agreement would provide “certainty to businesses who want to invest in both Ireland and Ethiopia. Each year, Irish exports to Ethiopia are worth €20 million. There are huge opportunities for Irish companies in Africa and this is a very welcome development,” he added.

Interviewed by members of the Irish media, Mr Higgins said: “Everyone agrees now that there are huge global changes taking place, in terms of hard power and soft power. What is very very clear is that the African continent is going to play a very significant role in the new international arrangements.”

He pointed out that “there’s always the temptation of the lazy view that Africa is a continent of problems. Looked at the other way it is a continent of 1.1 billion people, half of whom are under the age of 25. It has maybe 60 per cent of its arable surface not in full production.”

Concerning his separate meetings yesterday with Ethiopia's president Mulatu Teshome and prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Mr Higgins added: "2014 marks the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Ireland and Ethiopia, with the future offering ever greater potential for the development of a deeper and mutually fruitful relationship, particularly in the areas of agriculture, innovation and economic development.

“We discussed human rights in this detail. I also explicitly raised the question of the freedom to criticise and the issue of journalists’ freedom.”

There was, he said, “no visible surprise” at his raising human rights issues.