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Opinion - Horn of Africa
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France - Ethiopia Horn of Africa Association : The City of Villeurbanne welcomes an official Ethiopian delegation as part of the Villeurbanne-Dire Dawa decentralizedcooperation.
In late June and early July 2022, a group of high rankingEthiopian officials led by Kedir Juhar, Mayor of Dire-Dawa, the second biggest city in Ethiopia, travelled to France. ShokiAli Said, President Association France Ethiopie Corne de l'Afrique, made it possible to set up a vast program of work, visits and meetings in Paris, Villeurbanne and Lyon.
Shoki Ali Said (President, France-Ethiopia Association) / Cédric Van Styvendel (Mayor, Villeurbanne) / Kedir Juhar (Mayor, Dire-Dawa)
During the visit, the Ethiopian delegation, including 10 high-levelofficials, was officially received by the Mayor of Villeurbanne, Cédric Van Styvendael, and Ikhlef Chikh, municipal councilor in charge of international cooperation. France's expertise and savoir-faire in smart cities, water treatment and urban planning wereamong the topics of discussion.
The Ethiopian delegation was also invited to meet with otherofficials of the city of Villeurbanne, including Agnès Thouvenot, 1st deputy mayor - Sonia Tronc, deputy mayor in charge of education - Yann Crombecque, deputy mayor in charge of security - Melouka Hadj-Mimoune, deputy mayor in charge of housing - Jonathan Bocquet, deputy mayor in charge of finances. Additional thematic meetings were organized with the leadership of Sciences Po Lyon, the Firefighters Department, the Urban Planning Agency, the Dialogues en Humanité festival. Finally, a visit program in the form of a guided tour offered the delegationthe opportunity to discover cultural, sports and industrialfacilities.
During the " Invest in Ethiopia - Dire-Dawa " Forum, French companies were present to better understand the Ethiopian marketand the reasons for the attractiveness of the city of Dire-Dawa. This forum was an opportunity to discuss various commercial issues such as the business climate and macroeconomic situation in Ethiopia.
All along the mission, the members of the Ethiopian delegationemphasized their will to reinforce the links between the city of Villeurbanne and Dire-Dawa (decentralized cooperation). The Ethiopian delegation from the city of Dire-Dawa concluded theirvisit to France with a joint declaration of commitment for a future trip to Ethiopia in 2023 by a French delegation to Dire-Dawa composed of elected officials and experts from the city of Villeurbanne and the Metropole of Lyon.
