Ethiopia could enter the Russian coffee market with its unique products by opening its own "Coffee House" as an experiment in Moscow. This proposal was expressed on March 15 by Alexander Kopkov, the Director of the Department the External Relations of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. It was during a meeting with H.E. Mr. Cham Ugala Uryat, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. At this meeting, were also present the representatives of AFROCOM.

According to Alexander Kopkov, due to the fact that Russia is being targeted by packages of economic sanctions, this could be an opportunity for African countries to establish direct trade relations without any middle men from the West. At the same time, according to him, Russian export has high added value for both Ethiopian and Russian economies.

Stanislav Mezentsev, Executive Director of AFROCOM, then drew the attention to the issues with settlements under foreign trade contracts that have arisen under the restrictive measures imposed on Russia, and also Russia facing logistical challenges makes difficult to work with Ethiopian partners. One should add to this the limited mobility of representatives of business circles, which resulted from the decision of Ethiopian Airlines to cancel flights to Moscow. Despite these circumstances, as noted by Stanislav Mezentsev, AFROCOM continues to consider Ethiopia as one of the major trading partners from sub-Saharan Africa. In this context, the launch of the AFROCOM Business Support Center in Addis Ababa, which was officially opened during the Committee's business mission to Ethiopia in February of this year, was a major step in terms of demonstrating our priorities on the continent.

As a paramount measure for the resumption of commodity flows and according to participants of the meeting, next thing to do will be the organization of an independent logistics chain, as well as direct air and sea connections with the involvement of transport companies Ethiopian Air Cargo and Ethiopian Shipline.

For his part, the Ethiopian diplomat Cham Ugala Uryat expressed the hope that Russia will restore the supply of mineral fertilizers, as it is very important for the development of agriculture, which plays a key role in the economy of this African country, and asked for the Chamber's assistance in addressing this issue.

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