Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 31 October (HL10897), what assessment they have made of the case for further multilateral partnerships and cooperation to encourage investment in Ethiopia; and how many additional posts for (1) UK officials, and (2) locally engaged staff, have been created at the British Embassy in Addis Ababa.

The British Embassy in Addis Ababa has been working closely with our international and multilateral partners, and through our bilateral programmes, to increase the levels of investment in Ethiopia. We note the $1.2bn World Bank Operation with Ethiopia was approved on 30 October. The Minister for Africa discussed prospects for this, and economic development more widely, when she represented the UK at our annual bilateral aid talks with Ethiopia on 5 October. During her visit, she announced a £66 million package of UK technical assistance to the economic reform process.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is now finalising the new roles to deliver the new strategic approach to Africa, announced by the Prime Minister on her regional visit. While it is not possible to give final figures at this stage, this is a significant uplift across our African network of posts and will include new roles focussed on supporting growth, trade and economic partnerships in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa more widely.