(Ecofin Agency) - France will provide about $96 million to support Ethiopia’s economic openness, Emmanuel Macron, French president announced this week during his visit to the East African country.

This fund should be complemented with a $16 million technical assistance provided by the French Development Agency (AFD).  

During the visit, Emmanuel Macron also announced an "unprecedented" defence agreement with Addis Ababa. This agreement will establish a cooperation framework for the training and equipment of Ethiopian defence forces.

"This unprecedented defence agreement lays the foundations of closer cooperation and opens the way for specific support by France in the establishment of an Ethiopian naval component," Emmanuel Macron added.

These new agreements fall within the framework of a charm offensive launched by the French government in a country usually presented as China’s main partner. In 2018, for his first European visit, Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed went to Paris.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou