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ETHIOPIA
Yehizb Tewokayoch Mekir Bete
Parliamentary bodies dealing with international trade :
Trade and Industry Affairs Standing Committee

Type of parliamentary body Multifunctional
Nature Permanent
Related to chambers Yehizb Tewokayoch Mekir Bete
Date of creation May 2002
Last renewal date
Mandate The Standing Committee checks, supervises and investigates the international and national trade policies, laws and regulations, so that they will be effectively implemented. As it receives bills immediately after the first reading, the Standing Committee prepares and submits a report to the House for the second reading or ratification. Such bills also include multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements. The Committee also prepares bills on trade and submits them to the House whenever deemed necessary. As Ethiopia is in the process of acceding to the WTO, this Committee follows all issues related to the international trade in general and WTO in particular very closely.
Membership As is the case of all House standing committees, this Standing Committee is composed of 13 members. They are elected from the House based on their education and work experience both from ruling and opposition parties. Gender parity has also been taken into consideration in the composition of the Committee. Members of the Standing Committee serve a five-year term in general.
Working methods Once it receives a bill following the first reading, the Committee places the item on its agenda. It, then gives notice, invites resource persons from the executive and other bodies directly concerned with the issue on hand, and arranges public hearings which may help the Committee to gather public views. The Committee then submits a report of its finding, recommendations and suggestions on the matter to the House for ratification. The Committee also discharges supervisory and follow-up functions such as: receiving plans and achievements of the government institutions it supervises, taking part in meetings and conferences related to trade affairs; inviting and discussing with concerned bodies and where necessary, requests further explanation and making helpful visits. The principal source of information about international trade matters is the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Relations with other parliamentary bodies The Committee interacts with other parliamentary bodies through meetings. It may convene a meeting with the coordinating committee, which comprises the Speaker, the Deputy Speaker, the Secretary General, the Chairperson and the Vice-Chairperson of the House standing committees. The Committee also collaborates with other committees if a bill is also referred to it/them for examination.
Relations with external bodies The Committee is responsible for investigating government institutions. The Committee receives plans and achievement of the institutions, takes parts in different meetings and conferences of those institutions, conducts helpful visits, and prepares a public debate on the report of the institution. Interaction between the Committee and civil society takes the form of different activities such as taking part in meetings, conferences and workshops and preparing public hearing forums. Committee members usually attend major intergovernmental negotiation forums as part of official delegations.
Subjects dealt with The issues that the Committee has dealt with recently are: the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly held in Belgium, Congo-Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Netherlands, etc; the Eleventh Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development held in Sao Paulo; the Regional Conference of East African Countries to assess the impact of International Trade Agreements (policies) on national and regional development programmes.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Main address Addis-Abeba
Phone +251 9 24 73 46
Fax +251 1 24 10 04
E-mail national.parliament@telecom.net.et
PRESIDING OFFICER(S)
Name Mr. Kebde Abera
Notes
Address (if different from above) Addis-Abeba
Phone +251 9 69 09 93 / +251 1 29 43 48
Fax +251 1 24 10 04
E-mail kebede_ido@yahoo.com / kebede-ab@hotmail.com
Website http://www.ethiopar.net
Name Mr. Tesfaye Abera
Notes
Address (if different from above) Addis-Abeba
Phone +251 22 53 93 92 / +251 1 24 10 37
Fax +251 1 24 10 04
E-mail national.parliament@telecom.net.et
Website
SECRETARY
Name Mr. Asnake Tadesse
Notes Secretary General
Address (if different from above) Addis-Abeba
Phone +251 9 24 73 46
Fax +251 1 24 10 04
E-mail national.parliament@telecom.net.et
web site:
Notes

Information on this page was last updated on 23 August 2005
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