Ethiopian Airlines Group has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Boeing to position Ethiopia as an aviation hub for Africa within three years. Boeing has stated it regards Ethiopian Airlines as a global aviation leader in the African continent, and wants the partnership to work in four areas of collaboration: industrial development, advanced aviation training, educational partnership, and leadership development. Joint multidisciplinary teams have been established to implement the strategic partnership, and they report that “important milestones” have already been reached.
“I am very much thrilled not only to sign this historic MoU with our long-standing aviation partner, Boeing, but also to the implementation of milestones. We have been working in collaboration with Boeing on different large-scale projects in aviation for more than 70 years to serve the continent of Africa, and this partnership expands and builds our capability in multiple fields,” stated Tewolde GebreMariam, group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines.
“I have firm conviction that with our dedication in its implementation, the MoU will successfully attain its goal of positioning Ethiopia as the continent’s aviation hub. We highly value the critical role of our American partner companies in accomplishing our goals and we will continue to work with key American aviation players like Boeing, GE, Pratt and Whitney and Collins Aerospace etc… in our journey towards excellence in aviation,” he added.
Ethiopian and Boeing are aiming for the Ethiopian Aviation Academy to be recognised as a global standard for aviation training, while Boeing is committed to developing Ethiopia’s manufacturing capability and aftermarket aviation service. Through this MoU, Boeing and Ethiopian hope to advance their capabilities to compete globally, and to build a “21st century pipeline” for aviation careers in Ethiopia.
