From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Mon Aug 18 2008 - 10:26:18 EDT
Ethiopia says Djibouti scraps port tariffs plan
By: Reuters
Published: 18 Aug 08 - 14:17
Djibouti has dropped plans to raise port tariffs that would have cost
land-locked Ethiopia an extra $22-million a year, the government in Addis
Ababa said on Monday.
The Red Sea state has been Ethiopia's main gateway for imports and exports
since it lost the ports of Assab and Masawa when Eritrea won its
independence in 1991.
"The Ethiopian government has been notified that the proposed tariff raise
has been waived indefinitely," Ethiopia's Ministry of Transport and
Communication said in a statement, adding the tariff had been due to take
effect on August 15.
"Had the tariff increment become effective, Ethiopia would have paid an
additional $22-million on top of the $300-million it is paying a year to
Djibouti port for handling 4,6-million tons of goods annually."
Ethiopian government sources said Djibouti's decision to scrap the plans
followed a visit by Djiboutian President *Omar Ismail Guelleh* to Addis
Ababa last month.
During that trip, Ethiopia gave Guelleh large tracts of land for wheat
farming and a lakeside holiday home, officials said.
Djiboutian officials could not be reached for comment.
***
Related articles Ethiopia gives Djibouti's Guelleh farmland - officials
http://www.polity.org.za/article.php?a_id=138611 Land-locked Ethiopia has
given Djiboutian President Omar Ismail Guelleh large tracts of land for
wheat farming and a lakeside holiday home,...
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