Johannesburg

Thursday

Sunny. Pleasantly warm.

13°C
28°C

7 day forecasts

Russia to cancel Ethiopia debt

2007-03-07 17:10

Addis Ababa - Russia will write off the remaining $160m debt owed to it by Ethiopia, said Moscow's ambassador to the Horn of Africa nation on Wednesday.

In 2005, Russia cancelled just over $1.1bn owed to it by the Horn of Africa nation, which was ruled from 1974-'91 by former Marxist dictator Mengistu Haile Mariam and his Soviet-backed regime.

"Ethiopian and Russian officials have conducted discussions, and have agreed on how best to cancel the remaining $160m debt which Ethiopia owed to the former Soviet Union," said the Russian envoy Michael Afanasiev.

Trade between Ethiopia and Russia had recently improved, although it is not as big as it was in the 1980s, when Ethiopia was still under Soviet influence, Afanasiev said.

In the 1980s, Soviet exports to Ethiopia stood at more than $300m, about 10 times more than total imports and exports between the two nations in 2006, trade sources say.

Ethiopia mainly exports flowers and coffee to Russia, which sells fuel, fuel products, vehicles and spare parts to Ethiopia.

Mengistu, popularly known as the "Black Stalin", has been sentenced to life in prison in absentia for killing thousands of people during his 17-year reign.

He was said to have spent billions of dollars on weapons from eastern Europe in an attempt to suppress dissent before he was ousted in 1991.

- Reuters

inside news24

Weather
Traffic
Lottery
Cpt: 15-23°C Sunny. Mild. Pta: 17-32°C Sunny. Pleasantly warm.
Jhb: 13-28°C Sunny. Pleasantly warm. Bloem: 16-32°C Morning clouds. Pleasantly warm.
Dbn: 19-24°C A few showers. Afternoon clouds. Mild. PE: 17-21°C Mostly sunny. Mild.
7 day forecasts...

Jobs - Find your dream job

Chief Financial Officer

Gauteng - Midrand
Network Recruitment CA- Centurion
R800,000-900,000 Per Annum Cost To Company

Management Accountant

Gauteng - Johannesburg
Network Recruitment CA- Centurion
R550,000-600,000 Per Annum Cost To Company

Management Accountant

Gauteng - Johannesburg
Network Recruitment CA- Centurion
R550,000-600,000 Per Annum Cost To Company

Cars - Search 1000's of new and used cars

AUDI

2009 Audi A3 2.0 T Sportback Manual - 24000kms
Lava Grey & Tan leather interior
R 275 000

AUDI

TT Coupe 2.0 TFSi
2007
R 386,460.00

AUDI

A4 1.8T FSi Attraction MY09
2009
R 295,000.00

CHEVROLET

Aveo 1.6 LT
2009
R 155,900.00

Property - Find a new home

MENLO PARK

Single Residential R2,500,000

GEELHOUTPARK EXT 6

Single Residential R1,030,000

SEDGEFIELD

Single Residential R2,720,000

Travel - Look, Book, Go!

Cape Town Summer

Escape the Jozi crunch and head down to the Mother City this festive season with package deals from R1 814 per person sharing. Book now!

Free Games - TOO MUCH NEWS? TAKE A BREAK!

Kalahari.net - shop online today

Great Festive Savings on Books

Up to 30% Off ALL Books. 2.3 million titles on SALE.

Sleek New iPod Range. Order Your's Now!

iPod nano 16GB - Black, Was R2,499.00 Now R2,299.00! Save R200!

Up to 40% off Fabulous Festive Flicks

46 000 DVDs and Blu-Ray on sale now! Pre-order Up and District 9!

Up to 20% off ALL Music

100s of festive new releases now in stock! Now, Bump 25, Bon Jovi & more!

1000s of Festive Toys on Sale

Lots of Toys, free gift wrap, lowest prices on Lego Mindstorm, Ben 10, Hannah Montana & more!

Hot Deal of the Day!

Up to 30% off Books

Ends midnight, 30 November

2.3 million titles on sale! New Stieg Larsson, Jeremy Clarkson, Jamie Oliver & more!

Up to 40% Off Sale on All Books, Toys, CDs, DVDs & Games!