Ambassador Fesseha Shawel is among speakers at an upcoming event at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) entitled Financing the future of the Belt and Road in Africa.

Chaired by Financial Times Africa editor David Pilling, the event will take place on 20th September and will focus on China’s investment in Africa and explore the future of Sino–African development relations. In particular, looking at the implications of the opportunities generated by Chinese investment practices, such as Chinese stakeholder lending practices.

The event will also focus on the Belt and Road Initiative in the East African context, looking at how it is financed by both state actors and private investors who seek access to Belt and Road opportunities.

Joining Ambassador Fesseha will be Deborah Brautigam, Director of the China–Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University; Linda Calabrese, ODI Research Fellow and Jinny Yan, Chief China Economist at the ICBC Standard Bank. This is a public event. Register to attend or watch online via the ODI website.

On 25th July, Ambassador Fesseha and diplomats from the Political Affairs Department paid a courtesy call on the ODI, where they discussed issues of mutual interest, including ODI’s work in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.

On the occasion, Acting Executive Director, Sara Pantuliano, affirmed the ODI’s commitment to continuing their work in Ethiopia.