EPRDF coalition: “While majority stakes will be held by the state, shares in Ethio Telecom, Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopian Power, and the Maritime Transport and Logistics Corporation will be sold to both domestic and foreign investors.” The announcement was the first major signal that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in April promising a “new political beginning,” would implement real economic reforms. ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia’s ruling coalition announced on Tuesday that the state-run telecoms monopoly and state-owned Ethiopian Airlines would be opened to private domestic and foreign investment, in a major policy shift that will loosen the state’s grip on the economy. The ruling EPRDF coalition, which has held power since 1991, said it had taken the decision because economic reforms were needed to sustain rapid growth and to boost exports. “Hence ... while majority stakes will be held by the state, shares in Ethio Telecom, Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopian Power, and the Maritime Transport and Logistics Corporation will be sold to both domestic and foreign investors,” the EPRDF said in a statement. The announcement was the first major signal that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in April promising a “new political beginning,” would implement real economic reforms. In another major policy shift announced on Tuesday, the EPRDF said Ethiopia would “fully accept and implement” a peace agreement with Eritrea that was signed in 2000. The Horn of Africa neighbors have remained at odds since a 1998-2000 war over a disputed town that a boundary commission subsequently handed to Eritrea but which Ethiopia rejected.