Her Excellency Geeta Pasi, the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, expressed the importance of AmCham in promoting business and facilitating the favorable condition for the growth of the economy during a welcoming and introductory meeting with the AmCham Board Members. The Ambassador further stated that she is committed to engaging with the AmCham to help realize its vision. She underlined that the US sees Ethiopia’s success as an American success.
Mr. Ermias Eshetu, President of AmCham Board, welcomed the Ambassador and introduced the member of the board. In his welcoming remark, Mr. Ermias highlighted the main objective of AmCham and the activities that it is executing to help its members succeed in their business endeavors. He emphasizes the importance of coordinating efforts with the Embassy in promoting American and Ethiopian businesses for the common goal of economic growth.
Having been a member of AmCham in various countries and worked with different AmCham member companies, Ambassador Pasi expressed her keen interest and commitment to helping AmCham and engaging with its members to promote the business so that the economy can grow. She asserted that Ethiopia is not only the most important nation of the horn of Africa but also the global player in every aspect of world affairs. She also expresses her concern regarding the impact of COVID-19 and the security situation in Ethiopia.
She stated, in her capacity as the U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, facilitating platforms that promote the business is one of her primary focuses. She pointed out that there is a great deal of American businesses interest in investing in Ethiopia. According to the Ambassador, this interest has been boosted when the new administration took office with the hope of a prospective new economic policy that will make the market and the investment sectors more open. The Ambassador acknowledged that the conflict in northern Ethiopia and the instability in the rest of the country affected how the existing American companies operate and the hope of new US investors coming to Ethiopia.
She expressed her great hopes that AmCham and all other stakeholders can be able to address this concern collectively and move forward with an ambitious and important effort to promote business in Ethiopia. She reminded the members that Ethiopia was the third-largest importer of US goods and services last year and indicated that AmCham can capitalize on this economic relationship and work towards improving it tremendously. She advises the business companies to adopt and come up with a business solution that is resilient to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
Ms. Geeta Pasi is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service who has served, among others, as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs and U.S. Ambassador to Chad and Djibouti prior to her appointment to Ethiopia. She has extensive experience in Washington and overseas, collaborating on bilateral and regional issues.