Ethiopia, France to Sign Economic and Cultural Agreements

Ethiopia and France will sign agreements to increase cooperation in investment, cultural heritage conservation and security, the Prime Minister's office of the African country announced Wednesday.

The agreements will be signed as part of French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to the country on Wednesday, when he travelled to Lalibela, a small town in the Amhara region, accompanied by Ethiopian Premier Abiy Ahmed.

Macron arrived in Ethiopia from Djibouti, leading a delegation composed, among others, of company executives interested in starting business in East Africa.

The visit, announced here as the first of a French president to Addis Ababa since 1973, also aims to establish the restoration process of the cave churches excavated in the reddish basaltic rock of Lalibela, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Besides having a meeting with Ahmed less than six months after their meeting in Paris, the French leader will have talks with Ethiopian President Sahle-Work Zewde.