(3 minutes read)
· A new border post has been opened between Ethiopia and Kenya to promote two way trades
· The new corridor inaugurated by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his Kenyan counterpart President Uhuru Kenyatta at the Kenyan town of Mayale, many feel can be a game changer for bolstering trade between the neighbors
· Kenyatta said that Moyale would soon become the Dubai of this whole region, benefiting both countries
A new border post has been opened between Ethiopia and Kenya to promote two way trades. The new corridor inaugurated by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and his Kenyan counterpart President Uhuru Kenyatta at the Kenyan town of Mayale, many feel can be a game changer for bolstering trade between the neighbors.
Prime Minister Abiy was in the news recently for launching military operations against the leaders of the dissident Tigray region last month. His two-day visit to Kenya is his first jaunt after the incident, in which he claimed the federal forces could decimate the mobsters in the Tigray region.
Both Ethiopia and Kenya are attaching a lot of importance to the trade corridor. Speaking on the occasion, Kenyatta said that Moyale would soon become the Dubai of this whole region, benefiting both countries. Importantly, the town is located halfway between the Kenyan and Ethiopian capitals. The two capitals are 1500 kms apart. The city has a population of less than 40,000 people and does not have an airport. A 500 Km highway also was built to connect two capitals-Nairobi and Addis Ababa, which was also inaugurated by both heads of states.
Analysts feel that the new initiative will open a new chapter in both countries. Cross-border violence has been a bane, which displaced many civilians from the area. Both leaders assured that they would work towards building peace and harmony between the two countries critical for promoting trade and investment.
Cross-border violence has traditionally weakened trade and displaced civilians. Abiy said that the artificial border between the two countries should be dismantled with the new infrastructure to tap the potential and opportunities of business and economy. He had taken care not to draw into the recent crisis in Tigray during his visit to Moyale.
