(Walta Info) The government of Canada said it is ready to support Ethiopian efforts for attaining peace and stability particularly in the horn of Africa.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, Stephane Dion, in a press conference held at embassy of Canada yesterday said that his government is committed to engage interlocutors in the areas of peace, stability, security and the rule of law. Besides, more should be done to engage Ethiopians in the democratic process and to encourage the government to undertake real and constructive reforms.

He added that Ethiopia and Canada share common goals in promoting peace and security in East Africa. Canada values Ethiopia’s contribution in trying to bring stability to Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan.

Canada is concerned to recent demonstrations but is cautiously optimistic that development in the past few years may signal the willingness of the Ethiopian government to make genuine improvements for the benefit of its people, he added.

He also added that the visit demonstrates the importance of the African Union to Canada’s shared priorities with Africa, including African-led efforts to address the pressing challenges facing the continent in the areas of security and the rule of law.

Canada’s bilateral development cooperation program is focused on food security, agricultural and sustainable economic growth. Interventions also recognize the importance of advancing democracy and human rights to ensure that Ethiopia’s development progress is inclusive and sustainable, he underlined.

Canada’s imports from Ethiopia consist mainly of agro-food products, such as coffee, team spices and oilseeds. Ethiopian exports of textile and apparel goods have tariff-free access to the Canadian market.

The Minister has visited Nigeria, Kenya and Ethiopia, consecutively.

Trade volume between Canada and Ethiopia has now reached 46 million USD.

Ethio-Canada diplomatic relations was established in1965, Walta learnt.