UAE crown prince get Horse as gift from Ethiopian PM on the sidelines of $3bn Investment deal

By:borkena
When Abiy Ahmed visited United Arab Emirates as Ethiopian prime minister two weeks ago, on his way back from a two days official visit to Saudi Arabia, he invited Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit Ethiopia.

Today, one of the the most important holiday for Muslims, Eid Al Fitr, His Highness Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan arrived to Ethiopia, for a two days visit, to a 21 gun salute and red carpet reception at Bole International Airport.

Then Abiy Ahmed swung to a rather informal and cordial mood ; he drove the crown prince himself seating him by the side of the wheel and they visited an IT project center at Bole mini.

The reception at the palace was very cultural. The crown prince was treated to a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony with all the details and the prince seemed to have enjoyed it.

After a picture ceremony with the entourage of the prince and Ethiopian officials including the foreign minister Gebeyehu Workeneh, prime minister Abiy Ahmed presented the prince with a decorated white horse, a spear and a shield. The gift is not just cultural as it is a symbol of the survival of Ethiopian independence during the conquest of Africa in colonial times ; those are typical weapons of Ethiopian warriors in history.

Apart from the cultural ties, Abiy Ahmed was very successful in terms of securing some solid investment deals with the prince. His administration got US $2 billion as Foreign Direct Investment deal with United Arab Emirates and another US $ 1 billion in financial aid to help ease Ethiopia’s struggle with chronic shortage of foreign currency and it is to be deposited to the national bank, according to sources from the office of the prime minister.

UAE will be investing in Industrial Park, Hotel, Hospital, Shopping Mall and Manufacturing sectors.

SOURCE:BORKENA