• This marked PM Modi’s 1st ever bilateral visit to the African nation.

Key Highlights:
Bilateral Meeting: During his visit to Ethiopia, PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed at the National Palace (in Addis Ababa), where he was accorded a ceremonial welcome.

• The meeting was held in one-on-one, restricted and delegation-level formats, during which both leaders reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral relations, rooted in long-standing civilisational links and strengthened by close people-to-people ties.

Addressed Joint Session of Ethiopian Parliament: During his visit, PM Modi addressed the joint session of the Parliament of Ethiopia.

• With this, the Ethiopian Parliament has become the 18th parliament worldwide to be addressed by PM Modi.

Elevation to Strategic Partnership: India and Ethiopia have elevated their bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership (SP), marking a major step in strengthening cooperation between the two Global South partners.
3 MoUs: Following the bilateral meeting, PM Modi and his Ethiopian counterpart witnessed the exchange of 3 key Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in areas like: customs cooperation, United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping training, and data infrastructure.

• Custom Cooperation: India and Ethiopia signed an agreement on cooperation and mutual administrative assistance on custom matters.
• UN Peacekeeping Operations: Both countries signed a MoU which aimed at implementing arrangements for co-operation in UN Peacekeeping operations training.
• Establishment of Data Centre: Also, both countries signed a MoU for setting up a data centre at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

MoU on Debt Restructuring: India and Ethiopia signed a MoU on Debt Restructuring in respect of Ethiopia under the Group-20 (G20) Common Framework.
About Ethiopia:
Prime Minister (PM)- Abiy Ahmed Ali
Capital- Addis Ababa
Currency- Ethiopian Birr (ETB)