Bilateral Relation

ETHIOPIA- INDIA BILATERAL RELATIONS

Historical linkages between India and Ethiopia go back more than 2,000 years of history. Trade between the two countries flourished during the ancient Axumite Empire (1 Century AD), which is seen to be origin of modern Ethiopia. Ethiopian traders in the 1st century AD via the ancient port of Adulis traded with Indians. They imported silk and spices from India and sold gold and ivory. Soon after Indian independence, a goodwill mission led by Sardar Sant Singh was sent to Ethiopia. Diplomatic relations at legation level were established in 1948. Full diplomatic relations were established in 1950 with assignment of Ato Amanuel Abrham as the first Ambassador of Ethiopia to India as well as Sardar Sant Singh as the first Ambassador of India to Ethiopia. Ethiopia was the first country from Africa which opened its Embassy in New Delhi, India. The Ethiopian Embassy in New Delhi is also accredited to Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Ethiopia and India have strong and multi-faceted relations in political, economic and people-to-people interactions at bilateral and multilateral fora. In line with these engagements, more than 20 cooperation and partnership agreements have been signed by both parties.

High Level Meetings and Visits

Meetings

  • Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed and Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg, on 24 August 2023. Both leaders agreed to deepen relations and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in areas like parliamentary contacts, development partnership & capacity building, trade & investment, defence, ICT, agriculture, skilling of youth and people to people linkages.
  • The 2nd Voice of the Global South Summit was held in virtual format (17 Nov 2023).  Prime Minister, H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed participated at the Inaugural Leaders’ on the theme – Together, for Everyone’s Growth, with Everyone’s Trust. Ethiopian State Minister for Trade & Regional Integration attended the Commerce / Trade Ministers’ Session on Global South & Resilient Supply Chains.
  • Ethiopian Minister for Planning and Development participated in the Environment Ministers’ Session of the Voice of Global South Summit (12 Jan 2023).
  • EAM met Ethiopian DPM & FM on the sidelines of UNGA in New York (21 Sept 2022 and 26 Sept 2021). On 27th Aug 2021, EAM and Ethiopian DPM & FM had telephonic conversation and inter alia discussed bilateral relations and UNSC matters including the developments in Ethiopia.
  • Ethiopian Minister of Trade participated in the CII-Exim Bank conclave (July 2021). CEO of Tourism Ethiopia participated in the segment on tourism and hospitality (July 2021). Ethiopian Agriculture Minister participated as Guest of Honour in the CII India Africa Agriculture & Food Processing Summit (Sept 2021). Ethiopian Minister of Trade & Regional Integration participated in the CII Partnership Summit (Dec 2021).

Visits from Ethiopia Side

  • A 50-member Ethiopian Parliamentary delegation attended a training programme at the Parliamentary Research & Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE) in New Delhi from 20 to 24 February, 2023. The delegation consisted of government chief whips, chairpersons & deputy chairpersons of various standing committees and speakers of 12 regional parliaments.
  • Minister of Peace attended the 3rd ‘No Money for Terror’ Ministerial Conference on Counter-Terrorism Financing in New Delhi (Nov 2022). He met Home Minister and discussed bilateral, multilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.
  • Defence Minister attended the India-Africa Defence Dialogue in Gandhinagar (Oct 2022). During the visit, he met Raksha Mantri and discussed bilateral relations including cooperation in the defence sector.
  • Minister for Women and Social Affairs Dr. Ergogie Tesfaye (PhD) was conferred ICCR Distinguished Alumni Award – 2021 in New Delhi (Aug 2022). During the visit, she met External Affairs Minister, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment and Minister of Women and Child Development.
  • Minister of Industry participated in the 17th CII-Exim Bank Conclave on India – Africa Growth Partnership (July 2022). He was one of the speakers at the Trade Ministerial Session – Building B2G Bridge. Minister of Industry met Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Smt. Anupriya Patel in New Delhi. They discussed on strengthening our strong and deep bilateral relationship with a focus on enhanced economic cooperation and bilateral engagement.
  • Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister visited New Delhi (Feb 2021). During the visit, he met External Affairs Minister and discussed wide ranging issues including bilateral, regional and multilateral issues. Earlier, the two Ministers inaugurated the newly constructed chancery building and residence of the Ethiopian Embassy. DPM & FM Mekonnen and MOS for External Affairs attended the Indian-Ethiopia Business Forum meeting.
  • Visits were made by State Minister for Labour and Skills (Oct 2022), State Minister for Innovation and Technology (Aug 2022), Special Envoy of PM & former President Dr. Mulatu Teshome (Nov 2019), Minister of Water, Irrigation & Electricity for the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance (March 2018), and Minister for Agriculture and Natural Resources (March 2018).
  • High level visits from Ethiopia included those of Emperor Haile Selassie (1956 & 1968), Col. Hailemariam Mengistu (1983 and 1985), PM Meles Zenawi (1997, 2007, 2008 & 2011) and PM Hailemariam Desalegn (2015).

Visits from India Side

  • External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar visited Addis Ababa and met Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister & Foreign Minister, H.E. Mr. Demeke Mekonnen, on 13 April 2023. They discussed bilateral relations, developments in the region and shared views on our strong multilateral cooperation including in the African Union and United Nations.
  • Indian External Affairs Minister visited Addis Ababa and met Ethiopian President H.E. Sahlework Zewdie, on June 2022. They discussed bilateral cooperation including education, health and investment as also development partnership. Also, they exchanged perspectives on the regional and international situation.
  • President Shri Ram Nath Kovind paid a State Visit to Ethiopia (Oct 2017) and held talks with Ethiopian President and Prime Minister. Other high level visits included President S. Radhakrishnan (1965), Vice President Zakir Hussain (1967), President V.V. Giri (1972), PM Manmohan Singh (2011) and Vice President Hamid Ali Ansari (May 2013).
  • Ministerial visits from India included those by External Affairs Minister (2007, 2011), Commerce Minister (2011), MOS for External Affairs (2011, 2012), MOS for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution (2011), MoS for Finance (2015), Health Minister (Dec 2017) and MOS for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (2018).

During the bilateral and multilateral engagements, the officials of Ethiopia and India discussed on ways of cooperation in various areas i.e. politics, education, health, business and investment, people-to-people interactions as well as development partnerships.

Joint Trade Committee meeting in Addis Ababa (6 Nov 2023)

  • Ethiopia and India held the Sixth Joint Trade Committee meeting at the level of Director General / Joint Secretary in Addis Ababa. Ethiopian Minister for Trade and Regional Integration H.E. Mr. Gebremeskel Chala attended the inaugural session.
  • During the meeting both sides made comprehensive review of their bilateral trade and acknowledged the huge potential for expansion and diversification of the trade basket. They agreed to cooperate in standardization and quality assurance, financial, pharmaceutical, automobile, renewable energy, agriculture & food processing sectors.

Foreign Office Consultations in Addis Ababa (3 Oct 2022)

  • The 4th Round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOCs) between India and Ethiopia was held in Addis Ababa and co-chaired by Joint Secretary (East and Southern Africa), Ministry of External Affairs, India and Director General for Middle East, Asia & Pacific countries Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ethiopia.
  • Both delegations reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations during the Foreign Office Consultations. Issues discussed included political engagements, trade & economic matters, development partnership projects, cultural and consular matters, cooperation in higher education, people-to-people contacts, etc. It was also agreed to work to expand engagement in fields such as defence, Science and Technology, education, agriculture and allied sectors and civil aviation. Views on regional and global issues of mutual interest as well as AU related matters were also exchanged.

Foreign policy political consultation is conducted periodically between Ethiopia and India to further strengthen their existing bilateral and multilateral political relations.

Bilateral Agreements

  • Air Services Agreement (1967); 4 MoUs signed subsequently in 1972, 1993, 2004 and 2008.
  • Agreement on Technical, Economic and Scientific Cooperation (1969)
  • Cultural Agreement (1983)
  • Trade Agreement (1997)
  • Agreement on Cooperation in Micro Dams and Small Scale Irrigation Schemes (2002)
  • Agreement on Establishment of Joint Ministerial Commission (2007)
  • Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (2007)
  • Agreement on Cooperation in the field of Science and Technology (2007)
  • Educational Exchange Programme (2007)
  • Protocol on Foreign Office Consultations (2007)
  • Double Taxation avoidance treaty (2011)
  • MOU between NSIC, India and FEMSEDA (2011)
  • MOU between ICAR and Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (2011)
  • Trade Agreement (2017)
  • Agreement for Cooperation in the field of Information, Communication and Media (2017)
  • MoU for Cooperation between Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service and Ethiopian Foreign Relations Services Training Institute (May 2018)
  • Agreement on Mutual Visa Exemption for holders of Diplomatic Passports (2021)
  • MoU between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – Central Research Institute, India and Wollo University, Ethiopia (2021)

People-to-people Interaction

Cultural Cooperation

Ethiopia and India had signed cultural agreement in 1983, since then both sides had many cultural exchange events. For instance, an Ethiopian cultural music and dance group performed cultural shows in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram in October 2011 and similarly the following Indian cultural troupes have come to Ethiopia. Gujarati Dance troupe (2006), Bihari Dance Group (2007), Bharatnatyam Dance Troupe (2008), Goa Dance Troupe (2008), Fusion Music Group (2009), Punjabi Music and Dance Troupe (2010), Sidhi Goma Troupe (2011), Fusion Band ‘Shwaas’ (2012).

Recently, 16-member Ethiopian cultural group participated at the India-International Folk Festival organized by ICCR in Shillong, Kolkata, Banglore and Chandigarh from 22 Nov -04 Dec, 2023. As well as, 5 artisans and 10-member cultural group from Ethiopia travelled to India for the Surajkund International Crafts Mela (3-19 Feb 2023).

Education

The Government of India offers technical trainings to 400 Ethiopian professionals in various fields every year. In addition, it provides 55 educational scholarships to Ethiopian students, bachelors to third degree academic studies. Also Some Ethiopian and Indian universities have created productive partnerships in multiple areas of mutual interest.

Connectivity

On the basis of the Civil Aviation Agreement, Ethiopian Airlines operates 36-flights-a-week from Addis Ababa Bole International Airport to 4 Indian cities (New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai).  

Disclaimer: The official text of the Embassy Website is the English language version. Any discrepancies or differences created in translations are not binding and have no legal effect for compliance or enforcement purposes.

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