Ahmad 
The head of the Russian Federal Authority for Natural Resources “Rosneder”, Yevgeny Petrov, announced during the Russian-Ethiopian Business Forum that the volume of trade exchange between Russia and Ethiopia increased significantly during the first nine months of 2023.
Petrov pointed out that the volume of trade exchange between Russia and Ethiopia increased by 2.4 times during the first nine months of 2023, reaching $ 106 million.
Petrov, who is also deputy chairman of the Russia-Ethiopia Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Scientific, Technical Cooperation and Trade, added that the volume of bilateral trade decreased by 68.2 percent in 2022, reaching $71.7 million, but noted positive growth during the first nine months of this year.
The head of Rosneider explained that this growth is attributed to the increase in Russian shipments to Ethiopia of special vehicles, oil and its derivatives, in addition to the increase in imports from Ethiopia of coffee and dried vegetables.
Petrov expressed Russia’s readiness to provide expertise in the production of agricultural products and support in the adoption of the latest technologies
Petrov stressed that Russia is also seeking to strengthen cooperation in the field of energy, as Russian companies implement new projects to meet the growing needs of the Ethiopian economy for fuel and electric power.
He noted that Rosatom could offer technology for the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, such as medicine and agriculture.
As part of efforts to boost trade, Petrov called for a transition to the use of national currencies in settling trade deals between Russia and Ethiopia, including the ruble.
He announced Russia’s readiness to cooperate with Ethiopia in developing financial infrastructure and connecting banking institutions to the financial message transmission system established in Russia, facilitating cross-border payments regardless of restrictions imposed when using the West.