Title

AGREEMENT ON ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL CO-OPERATION BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF ITALY AND THE IMPERIAL ETHIOPIAN GOVERNMENT 

Preamble

The Government of the Republic of Italy and the Imperial Ethiopian Government,

(a) Desiring to further strenghten the friendly relations already existing between the two Countries,

(b) Recognizing the mutual benefit that will accrue as a result of closer economic and technical co-operation and

(c) Wishing to contribute to the economic development of their respective Countries, agree as follows:

Body

Article 1.

(A) The Government of the Republic of Italy undertakes to facilitate the providing of technical assistance to the Empire of Ethiopia for the development of Ethiopian industry and the improvement of agriculture, transport system and tourism of Ethiopia, including therein the assignment of Italian technicians to Ethiopia.

(B) The Government of the Republic of Italy shall foster the investment of Italian capital in the Empire of Ethiopia. Said capital will benefit from all the facilities provided for by the laws in force in the Empire of Ethiopia.

(C) In order to ensure a better realization of the program described in the preamble of this Agreement, the Government of the Republic of Italy, within the possibilities of its national economy, is also willing to grant to those Italian enterprises, which will so request, the necessary authorization for supplying Ethiopian firms with capital goods on a delayed payment basis, in conformity with the laws and regulations in force in the two Countries.

(D) The Italian Authorities, in a spirit of friendly co-operation, will examine the problems relative to supplying the aforesaid capital goods, particularly with an end to grant the most favourable possible terms of payment in relation to the nature and extent of the projects to be carried out. 

The credits deriving from the supply of capital goods from Italy, will be able to benefit from the guarantees provided for by the actual regulations of Italian laws. The Authorities of the Empire of Ethiopia, on their part, shall, in accordance with their existing laws and regulations, furnish the hecessary guarantees for the foreign exchange remittance of the sums due to the Italian creditors at the termination of each period of credit.

Article 2.

Italian firms and nationals, in respect of their capital imported from Italy and invested in the empire of Ethiopia, shall, on a basis of reciprocity, be accorded, with regard to the repatriation of capital, transfer of profits, proceeds of sales and compensation in case of expropriation or nationalization, the same treatment as that accorded or hereinafter to be accorded, under similar circumstances and conditions, to firms and nationals of the most favoured third country.

Article 3.

In order to facilitate the implementation of the program of economic and technical co-operation provided for by this agreement, a joint commission for economic development shall be established. Said commission shall be composed of representatives of both governments and, if necessary, also of Italian and Ethiopian experts.

Article 4.

The Joint Commission for Economic Development, provided for by Article 3) of the present Agreement, shall convene at the request of one of the two Governments whenever it shall be necessary.

The Joint Commission shall benefit from the collaboration of the competent Authorities of the two Countries.

The Joint Commission will encourage, among its tasks, the exchange of technical views and technical information between the two Countries, and will favour particularly the exchange of one Country's technicians to the territory of the other.

Article 5.

The present Agreement shall come into force from the date of the exchange of the instruments of ratification and shall remain in force for a period of two years from said date. Therafter, the present Agreement shall be tacitly renewed from year to year until such time as one of the two Contracting Parties will terminate the Agreement by a formal notice given three months before the Agreement is due to expire.

The termination of this Agreement shall not prejudice the validity of the contracts already signed and the guarantees already furnished in conformity with the present Agreement.

In witness whereof the undersigned Plenipotentiaires of the two Contracting Parties, being duly authorized thereto, have signed the present Agreement in the English language.

Conclusion

Done at Addis Ababa on February 18, 1963.

For the Government of the Republic of Italy

Luigi PRETI

For the Imperial Ethiopian Government

Kerema YIFRU