Ethiopian Airlines, Africa’s best airline and winner of multiple global awards, has signed a strategic partnership agreement to jointly commence sea-air multimodal transportation with International Djibouti Industrial Park Operation (IDIPO) and Air Djibouti for an expeditious transportation of goods to Africa.

Based on the agreement, the cargo will be transported from China to Djibouti Free Zone by sea and will be uplifted by air from Djibouti International Airport. The synergy between air and sea transportation is highly instrumental in facilitating trade between Africa and China through fast and easy movement of cargo. The collaboration will save both time and energy in addition to stimulating the growth of cargo market in Africa. The transportation deal enables traders to order their products from China to Africa via Djibouti port and Ethiopian facilitates the air movement of goods to different parts of Africa through its vast network.

Ethiopian Group CEO Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam said, “We are pleased to have signed this agreement which will establish the necessary infrastructure and institutional system to enable us provide new logistics product called “SAM” (Sea -Air-Modal) which is highly cost-effective multi- modal transportation solution for African businesses. This product will use Sea Freight from China to Djibouti sea port and air freight from Djibouti Airport to all African cities. This new multi-modal logistics solution will enable African businesses, multinational companies, Chinese companies and other businesspeople to enhance their supply chain management system with the best combination of speed, cost and quality services. Ethiopian Airlines Group has a long time experience in providing similar product through Dubai sea and air ports. We are committed to help customers deliver their goods safely and efficiently across our network in association with our partners- International Djibouti Industrial Park Operation and Air Djibouti. We have kept on playing a key role in both African and global cargo and logistics business and will continuously advance our cargo services to meet our customers’ increasing demand. “

The partnership simplifies trade from china to different countries in Africa with the vast Ethiopian network in the continent and beyond. The markets of China and Africa are highly complementary and the partnership has huge potential in facilitating cost and time efficient logistics solutions for African traders. As the world's production base, China is the largest supplier, while Africa with a population of 1.3 billion has a huge market demand. China has been Africa's largest trading partner with a trade volume of

 $254 billion in 2021. Taking advantages of the best African sea port in Djibouti and the best airport in Ethiopia, Sino-African Sea-Air Express has been created by combining their respective wide freight networks.