Addis Ababa, Ethiopia was at the heart of a landmark visit by the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA) which made its first official visit to Ethiopia at the end of July 2023. FIATA, hosted by its Association Member, the Ethiopian Freight Forwarder and Shipping Agents Association (EFFSAA), had the opportunity to visit the rapidly growing region and engage with key supply chain stakeholders.

EFFSAA is a very active FIATA Association Member in the Africa and Middle East region, and one of its strong points is the distribution of the FIATA diploma in freight forwarding, with more than 180 certificates awarded. EFFSAA has also been validating FIATA training programs since 2011. In Spring 2023, it completed a Train the Trainer (ToT) course with around forty participants. EFFSAA was also a finalist in the bid for the 2025 FIATA World Congress, which was awarded to Vietnam, and is still looking to continue its bid to be the third African country, after South Africa and Egypt, to host the world’s biggest global logistics event.

The FIATA Director General Stéphane Graber joined the ToT award ceremony, hosted by the EFFSAA. During the ceremony, students were honored, highlighting the commitment to capacity building and excellence in the freight forwarding industry. “Africa is one of the fastest moving continents worldwide, with a large young workforce. FIATA is honored to collaborate with EFFSAA, who have been working hard on improving training standards and growing their training services.” said the FIATA Director General. He continued “Capacity building and digitalisation are key priorities for FIATA for Region Africa and Middle East, to create a strong and more resilient supply chain for all in the region.”

During their visit, FIATA had the opportunity to visit key facilities in Ethiopia, including the African Union Headquarters and the state-of-the-art cargo facilities of Ethiopian Airlines. Various meetings were held with government officials, including the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, the Ethiopian Maritime Authority, the Ministry of Tourism, Ethiopia's Shipping and Logistics (ESL), and the Customs Commission. These meetings provided the opportunity for FIATA to engage on key issues on behalf of the industry. All government institutions expressed their full support to FIATA and to EFFSAA in the inclusive digitalisation of the supply chain, as well as Ethiopia becoming the third country in Africa to host a FIATA World Congress.

The visit also brought together FIATA representatives to the IATA-FIATA Consultative Council (IFCC) from all world regions to further advance the ongoing work towards a comprehensive Global Air Cargo Program. Hosted by FIATA’s Airfreight Institute Chair Dawit Woubishet (EFFSAA), the meetings provided the opportunity to consider possible solutions to address the rapidly evolving airfreight market environment in the interests of bringing a fit-for-purpose, modern framework that can benefit all regions worldwide. The Global Air Cargo Programme work builds upon the considerable achievements of the previous IATA Cargo Agency Modernisation Program (CAMP) and the IATA-FIATA Air Cargo Program (IFACP). The objective is to streamline and harmonise the complex web of overlapping rules around the world through globally harmonised rules that, unlike the current legacy agency rules, reflect the commercial realities of freight forwarders as customers, rather than agents, of the airlines. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as a strategic airfreight hub for the region, was an excellent location to hold such discussions, and provided the opportunity for FIATA to better understand the needs of the African region towards a Global Air Cargo Programme by engaging with various actors in airfreight.