India’s Engagements with
Ethiopia
Key Highlights
·
PM
Modi’s Visit (16–17 Dec 2025):
First bilateral visit to Ethiopia; conferred with Ethiopia’s highest honour,
Great Honor Nishan.
·
Strategic
Partnership:
India and Ethiopia elevated ties to a Strategic Partnership, marking a
new phase of cooperation.
·
Agreements
Signed: Eight
MoUs, including a Data Centre at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and debt restructuring under G20 Common Framework.
·
Indian
Investments:
675+ Indian companies registered in Ethiopia, with USD 6.5 billion
investments, creating 75,000+ local jobs.
·
Trade: FY 2024–25 trade stood at USD 550.19
million (exports: USD 476.81m; imports: USD 73.38m), making ties strongly
export-driven.
Historical Context
·
Relations
date back 2,000+ years (Axumite Empire trade in silk, spices, gold,
ivory).
·
Indian
soldiers supported Ethiopia during WWII against Italian occupation.
·
Formal
diplomatic ties established in 1950, evolving into multifaceted
cooperation in trade, investment, and development.
Political Engagements
·
High-Level
Meetings:
Regular PM-level interactions at G20, BRICS, Voice of Global South Summits.
·
Ministerial
Dialogues:
Frequent meetings between External Affairs Ministers and Ethiopian counterparts
at UNGA, G20, and bilateral visits.
·
Structured
Mechanisms:
Foreign Office Consultations, Joint Trade Committee meetings, parliamentary
exchanges.
Recent Official Engagements
·
Indian
Visits to Ethiopia:
o
ISA
Director General (Aug 2025) on solar energy.
o
Finance
Ministry delegation (July 2024) for FfD4 PrepCom.
o
Delegations
for Global Cheetah Summit (Jan 2024), Joint Trade Committee (Nov 2023).
o
Multi-party
parliamentary delegation (May–June 2025) emphasizing India’s zero tolerance
on terrorism.
·
Ethiopian
Visits to India:
o
Defence
Minister (Feb 2025) signed defence cooperation MoU.
o
Industry
Minister at Bharat Tex 2024.
o
Health
Minister delegation (Nov 2025) exploring pharma & healthcare collaboration.
o
Defence
cooperation meeting (Oct 2025).
o
Election
Board delegation (Aug 2025).
o
Parliamentary
delegations (Feb 2023, May 2025) for training and capacity building.
Takeaway
India–Ethiopia
relations have deep historical roots and are now entering a strategic phase
with stronger political, economic, and defence cooperation. The partnership is
driven by high-level engagements, robust trade, significant Indian
investments, and shared commitments on issues like terrorism, sustainable
development, and capacity building.
[ABS
News Service/18.12.2025]
Key
Takeaways
·
PM
Narendra Modi visited Ethiopia on 16-17 December 2025, on his first bilateral
visit.
·
He
was conferred with ‘Great Honor Nishan of Ethiopia’ country’s highest honour
during Addis Ababa visit.
·
India
and Ethiopia have elevated their bilateral ties to a Strategic Partnership,
marking a new phase of cooperation.
·
India,
Ethiopia signed eight MoUs, agreements, including that for establishing a Data
Centre at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and for debt restructuring
under the G20 Common Framework.
·
Over 675
Indian companies are registered with the Ethiopian Investment Commission,
with total investments over USD 6.5 billion, especially in key
sectors of manufacturing and pharmaceuticals, creating over 75,000 local jobs.
·
Bilateral
ties are supported by structured dialogues such as Foreign Office Consultations
and Joint Trade Committee meetings.
·
High-level
political engagement is also sustained through Prime Minister-level meetings on
the sidelines of G20 and BRICS Summits, and regular External Affairs Minister
interactions.
·
India–Ethiopia
total trade stood at US$ 550.19 million in FY 2024–25. Indian exports are US$
476.81 million and imports US$ 73.38 million, making the relationship strongly
export-driven.
Introduction
As
part of a three nation visit to Jordan, Ethiopia and Oman from 15-18 December,
2025 PM Narendra Modi was in Ethiopia on 16-17 December. He arrived in
Addis Ababa on his first bilateral visit to Ethiopia. PM Modi held wide-ranging
discussions with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, covering a broad
range of bilateral matters and issues of mutual interest.
India–Ethiopia
relations are rooted in historical connections and sustained by contemporary
political engagement and economic cooperation. Ethiopia is an important country
in the African subcontinent, a member of the BRICS Forum, an important player
in the Global South, and for India, a historical and long-term development
partner.
The
friendship between the two countries goes back more than 2,000 years when trade
thrived in the time of the Axumite Empire (1st century AD). Indian traders
traded silk and spices for gold and ivory through the ancient port of Adulis in
the 6th century AD. In the 16th century, Indians from Goa came with the
Portuguese army to help the King of Ethiopia fight invaders. The British forces
that helped end Italy's occupation of Ethiopia (from 1936 to 1941) included a
large number of Indian soldiers.
Formal
diplomatic ties between the India and Ethiopia were established in 1950. These
have evolved into a multifaceted partnership encompassing trade, investment,
capacity building, and development cooperation. Trade remains a central pillar,
with India emerging as one of Ethiopia’s leading trading partners in Africa,
driven largely by Indian exports.
Political
engagement has remained consistent through Prime Ministerial meetings on the
sidelines of G20 and BRICS Summits, as well as regular ministerial and
institutional dialogues. India’s long-term commitment to Ethiopia is reflected
in continued political outreach, structured mechanisms such as Joint Trade
Committees, and strong Indian investment presence in the country.
India-
Ethiopia Bilateral Relations over the years
India
and Ethiopia maintain robust bilateral relations through sustained high-level
political engagements, including recent meetings between the Prime Ministers on
the sidelines of multilateral summits and ongoing official visits across
various sectors.
High-Level
Political Engagements
India
and Ethiopia have kept high-level contacts strong. Prime Minister of India met
with Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed on the sidelines of the G20 summit
in Johannesburg on November 22, 2025, and earlier on the sidelines of the BRICS
Summit in Johannesburg on 24 August 2023. During these meetings they discussed
boosting bilateral ties in technology, skilling, parliamentary contacts, trade,
investment, defence, ICT, agriculture, education and people-to-people ties.
Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed also joined the Second and Third Voice of the
Global South Summit chaired by India on 17 November 2023 and 17 August
2024 respectively. Both leaders also held telephonic conversation during the
COVID-19 pandemic, in which they expressed mutual solidarity, covering
domestic, regional, and global issues.
Regular
engagements have also been held at the Foreign Ministerial levels. India's EAM
met with Ethiopia's Foreign Minister on the sidelines of the G20 Foreign
Ministers’ Meeting in Johannesburg on February 20, 2025, to discuss bilateral
cooperation. Earlier in September 2024, the two foreign ministers met on the
sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly. External Affairs Minister Shri S
Jaishankar visited Addis Ababa in 22 June and April 2023 and held talks with
the Ethiopian side on bilateral cooperation in areas like education, health and
investment, development partnership and also regional developments, and
multilateral cooperation, including in the African Union and United Nations.
Additionally, EAM met the Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister
on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on 21 September 2022
and 26 September 2021. On 27 August 2021, EAM held a telephonic conversation
with the Ethiopian and FM, discussing bilateral relations and UNSC matters.
Recent
Official Visits and Interactions:
Director
General of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) visited Ethiopia between
11-15 Aug 2025 and met with the Ethiopian State Minister of Water and Energy,
to discuss the country’s solar energy development plans.
Indian
Delegation led by Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance participated in the
first session of Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) of
the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) held in
Addis Ababa from 21st July to 27th July 2024.
Secretary
(ER) visited Ethiopia for preparatory meetings ahead of the upcoming Fourth
India Africa Forum Summit (IFS-IV).
Indian
Delegation led by Additional DG (Project Tiger & Elephant) participated in
Global Cheetah Summit held in Addis Ababa during 28th-31st January 2024.
The
sixth Joint Trade Committee meeting at the level of Joint Secretary / Director
General was held in Addis Ababa (6-7 Nov 2023).
Visit
of Multi-Party Parliamentary delegation to Ethiopia (May 30- June 01, 2025)
A
multi-party Parliamentary delegation, led by Ms. Supriya Sule, visited Ethiopia
from May 30- June 01, 2025. This visit was part of a four-nation tour planned
following the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, ‘Operation Sindoor’, and the subsequent developments. During their
visit, the delegation held wide-ranging discussions with Ethiopian dignitaries,
including former Prime Minister Mr. Hailemariam Dessalegn;
Mr. Adem Farah, Deputy Chairperson of the Prosperity Party with the rank of
Deputy Prime Minister; Mr. Tagesse Chafo, Speaker of the House of People's Representatives;
and representatives from the African Union. They also interacted with members
of the media, academia, civil society, think tanks, and the Indian diaspora in
Ethiopia. The discussions focused primarily on India’s unwavering stance on
‘zero tolerance towards terrorism’. Ethiopia expressed strong solidarity with
India and reiterated its own firm commitment to combating terrorism.
Visits
from Ethiopia
Ethiopian
Defense Minister visited India and signed a defense cooperation MoU at the sidelines of Aero India 2025
(11 February 2025). She also had a bilateral meeting with Defence Minister of
India
Minister
of Industry Mr. Melaku Alebel participated in Bharat
Tex 2024 in New Delhi in February 2024.
A
delegation headed by State Minister of Health H.E. Ms. Firehiwot Abebe Gobena
visited India from November 08-16, 2025 as part of the study tour conducted in
collaboration with World Bank, to engage in discussion and exploring
opportunities for enhanced collaboration with the pharmaceutical and healthcare
sectors.
Gen.
Teshome Gemechu, Director General for Defence Foreign Relations and Military
Cooperation of Ethiopia visited New Delhi from 15-17 October 2025 for the first
ever Joint Defence Cooperation meeting. The visit marks a milestone in long
standing bilateral defence relationship between the two countries.
A
seven-member Ethiopian delegation, led by the Chairperson of the National
Election Board of Ethiopia (NEBE), visited New Delhi from 26–30 August 2025.
A
41 Member delegation led by Deputy Speaker of the House of Federation of
Ethiopia attended a capacity building programme at National Centre for Good
Governance at New Delhi from 12-17 May 2025 under ITEC.
Visit
of Ethiopian Parliamentary delegation to India (20-24 Feb, 2023)
A
50-members strong Ethiopian Parliamentary delegation attended a training
programme at the Parliamentary Research & Training Institute for
Democracies (PRIDE) in New Delhi. The delegation consisted of govt whips,
chairperson & deputy chairperson of various standing committees and
speakers of 12 regional parliaments.