ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia

As bilateral trade between Turkey and Ethiopia hits $650 million and the two countries plan to boost the figure to $1 billion a year, Turkey indicated the need for a preferential trade agreement.

“Trade between Turkey and Ethiopia is rising,” Turkish Ambassador to Ethiopia Yaprak Alp said, adding: “But we need to make sure it'd balanced trade; we want Ethiopia to win as much as Turkey is winning.”

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, she said: “We need a preferential trade agreement where tariffs will be lowered and, in some cases, abolished; where we can have more trade; where we can import more coffee and sesame from Ethiopia.”

According to her, negotiations to establish a preferential trade pact between the two countries started in 2017.

“We were asking Ethiopia to sit down, let’s start negotiations and make sure that it's a win-win situation for more trade,” she said.

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen, who is also the country’s deputy prime minister, on Monday started a two-day official visit to Turkey. He already inaugurated a new building to house the Ethiopian Embassy in the capital Ankara.

Ethiopia mostly exports agricultural commodities and goods to Turkey while importing industrial and pharmaceutical products from Turkey.