Ethiopia has appointed an Honorary Consul for Scotland for the very first time.

Professor John Struthers of the University of West of Scotland’s School of Business and Enterprise was appointed in March and officially accepted his exequatur, duly signed by H.E. Dr Tedros Adhanom, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, at a lunch in his honour at the Ethiopian Embassy in London on Tuesday 28^th April.

As Honorary Consul, Professor Struthers will assist Ethiopia in its efforts to increase its trade and investment links with Scotland, encourage educational and cultural exchanges, and assist the London based Ethiopian Embassy to interact with the Scottish Government, civic society, and the business community.

Professor Struthers will also continue his on-going research work that he conducts with other UWS colleagues in the economics of commodity price volatility, and in particular commodities such as coffee, one of Ethiopia’ major exports. As DNA evidence has proved, Ethiopia is the original home of prime Arabica coffees.

The University of the West of Scotland issued a press release stating:

“As an economist, Professor Struthers is keen to highlight the major strides that the Ethiopian economy has made over recent decades with its recent high level of economic growth and major infrastructural improvements. These include the huge Renaissance Dam project around the Nile waters; the recently launched Addis Ababa light railway; and the major expansion in the country’s road and rail network aimed at improving transport links between Ethiopia and Djibouti. In addition, the country has recently witnessed massive expansion in the number of new universities. These developments, along with the huge potential that Ethiopia has in the area of cultural and religious tourism, means that this is a particularly important period for the country.”

At the official lunch, Professor Struthers said: “It is indeed a great honour and privilege for me to be appointed as Honorary Consul for Ethiopia in Scotland. Given my economics background and contacts within the business community in Scotland such as with the Chambers of Commerce and the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, I look forward to playing my part, along with the Ambassador and colleagues at the Ethiopian Embassy in London, in forging links between our two countries.”