February 23, 2018 Addis Ababa 53rd Regular Council of Ministers Meeting Decisions The Council of Ministers held today's 53rd regular meeting on various issues...

February 23, 2018 Addis Ababa 53rd Regular Council of Ministers Meeting Decisions The Council of Ministers discussed various issues in the 53rd regular meeting held today and passed a decision. 1. First of all, the addition discussed by the council is on the draft regulation for the establishment of Artificial Intelligence University. The university is established as an autonomous university according to Decree No. 1294/2015 and works to train young people in the field and produce scholars who are important for nation building. The regulation has been prepared and presented to the council to serve as a legal framework for the institution to play its part in the development of the country by regulating the duties and responsibilities of the university. After extensive discussion on the draft regulation, the council unanimously decided to make it effective from the date of its publication in the Federal Negarit Gazette. 2. Next, the council discussed a proposed regulation to determine the conditions under which it is obligated to pay compensation to investors. The draft regulation has been prepared and presented to the council to enable investors to engage in large projects and prioritized economic sectors that can accelerate the economic growth of our country. After extensive discussion on the proposed draft regulation, the council unanimously decided to implement it from the date of its publication in the Federal Negarit Gazette. 3. The Council then discussed three financial support agreements. The first loan for the implementation of the national electric power expansion project is a loan of sixty million two hundred and twenty three thousand (60,223,000) US dollars from the Korea Export Import Bank. The second is a loan of eighty million /80,000,000/ euros from the French Development Agency, which will be used for the implementation of renewable, integrated, sustainable energy and digitalization projects, with a minimum interest rate of 1.2%, a service fee of 0.5% for the costs of managing the loan, and a 20-year grace period, including a 7-year grace period. The third is a one hundred eighty four million one hundred thousand /184,100,000/SDR loan from the International Development Association, which is used for urban development safety net and business creation. It is interest-free, 1.25% service fee is paid for the expenses incurred in managing the loan and the unused money is paid in 30 years including a 6-year grace period. The council confirmed that all three loan agreements are in line with our country's credit management policy and unanimously decided that the bills should be forwarded to the House of Representatives. 4. Another thing that the council discussed was the draft regulation of warehouse receipt system. Decree No. 372/1996 has been issued to implement the warehouse receipt system in our country, but the draft regulation has been prepared and submitted to the council in order to correct the gaps that were observed in the implementation process due to the lack of regulations for the implementation of the decree. After extensive discussion on the proposed draft regulation, the council unanimously decided to implement it from the date of its publication in the Federal Negarit Gazette. 5. In addition, the council discussed the draft agreements for gold mining and iron ore production license. The two draft agreements presented to the council are of great importance in terms of increasing foreign exchange earnings, creating jobs for citizens, playing a positive role in our economy, and following the government's policy direction in terms of environmental protection and community benefit. 6. Finally, the council discussed the tourism draft policy. The tourism development policy that has been in place since 2001 has gaps in terms of dealing with the changes that have occurred in the sector, using good opportunities and development opportunities and fulfilling its role for national development. The draft policy has been prepared and presented to the council as it is necessary to enable the sector to play its part in the development of the national economy by leading and developing it in accordance with the policy direction set by the indigenous economic reforms. The council, after extensive discussion on the policy, added resources and unanimously decided to put it into effect from the date of its approval by the council. #PMOEthiopia