agreements In February 2014, Hailemariam met in Addis Ababa with a visiting delegation from Somalia led by Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed to discuss strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries. Hailemariam pledged his administration's continued support for the peace and stabilization efforts in Somalia, as well as its preparedness to assist in initiatives aiming to build up the Somali security forces through experience-sharing and training. He also suggested that Ethiopia and Somalia should increase bilateral trade and investment. Additionally, Hailemariam described the growing ties between both nations as a break from the counter-productive policies of past administrations, marking instead of the opening of a new chapter where mutual stability is beneficial. For his part, Ahmed commended Ethiopia's role in the ongoing peace and stabilization process in Somalia as well as its support against the Al-Shabaab militant group. He likewise welcomed the Ethiopian military's decision to join AMISOM. The meeting concluded with a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to promote partnership and cooperation, including a cooperative agreement to develop the police force, a second cooperative agreement covering the information field, and a third cooperative agreement on the aviation sector. Economic policy Hailemariam Desalegn sustained economic progress in Ethiopia after the sudden death of his predecessor in 2012. He played role to complete the implementation of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP I) and to start with GTP II. Between 2012 and 2018, major projects like Hawassa and Mekelle industrial park, Addis Ababa Light Rail, Gilgel Gibe III Dam, the new Addis Ababa–Djibouti Railway, as well as Bahir Dar Stadium and other stadiums in Mekelle and Hawassa are completed. Hailemariam is accredited for the country's continued rapid and double-digit economic growth, and Hailemariam led Ethiopia to partner Kenya in the ambitious US$24.5bn Lamu Port Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor – which includes a railway, highways, and an oil pipeline – which will provide his landlocked country and South Sudan with a new export pathway and reduce Kenya's dependence on the heavily congested port of Mombasa. Moreover, Hailemariam has partnered Ethiopia with Djibouti to sign an agreement for a $1.55 billion fuel pipeline with developers Mining, Oil & Gas Services and Blackstone Group LP-backed Black Rhino Group. Both countries which are in the Horn of Africa signed framework agreements in September 2015 for construction of the 550-kilometer (340-mile) line to transport diesel, gasoline and jet fuel from port access in Djibouti