Pakistan and Ethiopia are working to launch direct flights, establish formal banking channels and boost trade to at least $300 million.
“Ethiopian Airlines, the largest airline of Africa, is set to operate direct flights between Addis Ababa and Karachi,” announced Ethiopian Ambassador Jemal Beker Abdula while addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday.
Background information suggests the airline will start flying directly between the two cities for two days in a week from late December 2022 or early January 2023.
Earlier this year, Ethiopia opened its full-fledged embassy in
Islamabad, though the two countries had established diplomatic relations 64
years ago in 1958.
At present, the bilateral trade value is nominal at $7 million to
$8 million a year. “We have set a very ambitious target to increase trade to
$300 million in the first year,” Abdula said.