Ethiopia and the International Monetary Fund have reached a staff-level agreement on the third review of the country’s $3.4 billion loan programme from the lender, the Fund said on Friday.
Once approved by the IMF’s Executive Board, Ethiopia will gain access to another $260 million in financing.
“The (Ethiopian) authorities’ policy actions in the first year of the programme have yielded strong results. The transition to a flexible exchange rate regime has proceeded with little disruption,” the IMF statement said.
“Macroeconomic indicators have performed better than expected, with substantially better outcomes than forecast for inflation, goods exports and international reserves.”
(Reuters)
ZTE, Ethio Telecom Deploy Africa’s First All-Optical Government Network
ZTE announced that it has successfully deployed the FTTR-B all-optical network for the office building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) project. Led by Ethiopia’s state-owned operator, Ethio Telecom, ZTE provided a full suite of services, from a comprehensive solution design to equipment supply and implementation support. This project marks a new milestone in the deepening collaboration between the two parties in digital infrastructure development, injecting strong momentum into the informatization of Ethiopia’s key national projects.
ZTE provided Ethio Telecom with a tailor-made FTTR-B solution, transforming the GERD office building into Africa’s first all-optical government office benchmark. With high bandwidth, low latency, exceptional stability, and complete coverage, the solution has significantly improved the office experience and operational efficiency, helping the GERD enter a new era of smart office management.
Moving forward, ZTE will continue its partnership with Ethio Telecom to broaden the application of FTTR across the African market and boost the digital transformation of more national-level projects, with an aim to jointly build a digital Africa and embrace an intelligent future.
As the central hub of the project, the GERD office building plays a crucial role in coordination, dispatch, and daily operations, and thus requires a highly reliable, secure, and intelligent network.
(The Fast Mode)
Mauritania’s Sidi Ould Tah Elected President of African Development Bank
Sidi Ould Tah, a Mauritanian economist and development banker, has been elected President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), taking the helm of Africa’s premier multilateral lender at a time of growing uncertainty in global economic governance.
The announcement, made during the Bank’s Annual Meetings in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, sets the stage for the new leadership as the institution grapples with slowing global growth, rising debt distress across the continent, and the changing posture of Western development partners—chief among them, a resurgent Trump administration whose past scepticism of multilateral institutions still casts a long shadow.
Tah will assume office on September 1, 2025 for a five-year term, succeeding Nigeria’s Akinwumi Adesina, who steps down after a transformative but sometimes turbulent decade at the Bank’s helm.
A former Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance of Mauritania and the long-serving president of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Tah emerged from a crowded field of five candidates to clinch the presidency. His election was confirmed by Niale Kaba, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Planning and Development and Chair of the AfDB Board of Governors, after securing the required double majority—over 50.01 percent of both African (regional) and non-African (non-regional) shareholder votes.
The new President led a sweeping institutional overhaul that quadrupled the bank’s balance sheet, earned it a AAA credit rating, and established a one billion US dollars callable capital facility to support African multilateral development banks. That record, according to many shareholders, tipped the scales in his favour.
(BirrMetrics)
Ethiopian takes delivery of its last Boeing 777F
Ethiopian Cargo has received its 12th Boeing 777 production freighter on order as it continues to build its fleet.
The aircraft, registered ET-BAC, left Boeing’s Everett factory at Seattle Paine Field International Airport (PAE) in the US on 23 May, Flightradar24 records show.
It flew from PAE to Addis Ababa Bole International Airport (ADD), arriving on 24 May. The aircraft has already carried out flights to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso and Bamako, Mali. It is also scheduled to fly to Lagos, Nigeria on 27 May.
“Ethiopian Cargo has received its 12th Boeing 777 freighter aircraft, ET-BAC. This milestone delivery not only expands our cargo capacity but also enhances our logistics network across key global markets, reinforcing our leadership in airfreight,” said Ethiopian Cargo in a LinkedIn post on 27 May.
“Ethiopian Airlines is honoured to be the recipient of this iconic aircraft, a testament to our strong partnership with Boeing and our continued investment in cutting-edge fleet technology.”
In January this year, Ethiopian took delivery of its 11th 777F, registered ET-BAB.
(Air cargo news)
