Ethiopia and France’s Agence Française de Développement (AFD) have sealed a €28.5 million agreement to advance Ethiopia’s Homegrown Economic Reform (HGER) 2.0 agenda, the Ministry of Finance announced today. The deal, comprising budget support and technical assistance, underscores a deepening partnership between the two nations.
The agreement includes €25 million in budget support; signed on December 21, 2024, by Ethiopia’s Finance Minister H.E. Ahmed Shidé and AFD CEO Rémy Rioux; with €10 million already disbursed last year. An additional €3.5 million grant for technical assistance was finalized today by State Minister of Finance H.E. Dr. Eyob Tekalign and AFD Country Director Louis-Antoine Souchet.
The funds will support Ethiopia’s fiscal stability, while the technical assistance, led by the Ministry of Finance and the National Bank of Ethiopia, targets financial sector reforms, State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) policies, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) frameworks, and broader sectoral changes. Dr. Eyob hailed the deal as a “milestone” in Ethiopia-France collaboration, noting its timely boost to structural reforms. “The budget support provides fiscal space, while the technical assistance strengthens institutional capacity and competitiveness,” he said during the signing ceremony.
AFD’s Souchet reaffirmed France’s commitment, emphasizing support for SOE governance, economic sustainability, and public sector efficiency. “We aim to foster peer-to-peer exchanges and knowledge sharing between French and Ethiopian entities,” he added, highlighting the program’s focus on effective reform implementation.
Source: Ministry of Finance
