China’s Foreign Minister Visits Ethiopia, Strengthening Cooperation
First Ethiopia–Oman Bilateral Political Consultations Held in Addis Ababa
NEWS IN BRIEF
Ethiopia
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yi, visited Ethiopia from January 7 to 9. During his visit, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received Minister Wang Yi and engaged in high-level discussions. The meetings provided an opportunity to review the longstanding bilateral relationship between the two countries, explore avenues for deepening cooperation, and discuss shared priorities across a wide range of areas. (See article)
Prime Minister Abiy visited the Ethio–Djibouti Railway Corporation on Sunday (January 4), reviewing national logistics and operational capacity, commending progress in in-house railway construction, and underscoring the importance of coordinated improvements across rail, dry ports, highways, and warehousing to support Ethiopia’s expanding development agenda.
The first bilateral Political Consultation between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Sultanate of Oman was held in Addis Ababa on Monday (January 5). The consultation took place at the State Minister level, with the Ethiopian delegation led by Ambassador Hadera Abera, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Omani delegation led by Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali Al Harthy, Undersecretary for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman. (See article)
Minister Gedion met on Tuesday (January 6) with UAE Minister of State Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, discussing ways to further strengthen the longstanding Ethiopia–UAE partnership, enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and exchange views on regional peace and security issues of shared interest.
Following the meeting, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates said in a Joint Ministerial Statement issued on the same day that they reaffirmed their longstanding partnership, discussed regional peace and security developments, and agreed to deepen cooperation on climate action ahead of COP32 and the 2026 UN Water Conference.
Foreign Minister Gedion received on Monday (January 5) Oman’s Undersecretary for Political Affairs, Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali Al Harthy, for talks on strengthening longstanding bilateral ties, expanding trade and investment, leveraging Ethiopia’s economic liberalization, enhancing cooperation in agriculture, manufacturing and tourism, promoting people-to-people relations, and exchanging views on regional peace and security issues of mutual interest.
Africa and the African Union
The 51st Ordinary Session of the Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC) opened on Wednesday (January 7), bringing together ambassadors of AU Member States accredited to the African Union to review key reports on reparations, water and sanitation, infrastructure financing, humanitarian affairs, free movement of people, health, and AU institutional governance ahead of deliberations by the Executive Council and the Assembly.
The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi held the 9th China–African Union Strategic Dialogue on Thursday (January 8) at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa and issued a joint communiqué.
The African Union Commission and the United Arab Emirates held high-level talks in Addis Ababa on Tuesday (January 6) between AUC Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf and UAE Minister of State Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, reaffirming their partnership and agreeing to strengthen cooperation on peace and security.
China’s Foreign Minister Visits Ethiopia, Strengthening Cooperation
Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, Wang Yi, visited Ethiopia from January 7 to 9. During his visit, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed received Minister Wang Yi and engaged in high-level discussions. The meetings provided an opportunity to review the longstanding bilateral relationship between the two countries, explore avenues for deepening cooperation, and discuss shared priorities across a wide range of areas.
During their meeting, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed emphasized the strength of Ethiopia-China relations, stating, “Ethiopia and China have enjoyed a strong relationship for decades, further strengthened recently by its elevation to an all-weather strategic cooperation partnership.” The Prime Minister further noted, “We also explored ways to deepen collaboration in the economy, trade, infrastructure, energy, and transportation, as well as tapping potential in emerging areas such as e-commerce, the digital economy, artificial intelligence, and green energy.”
Following the Prime Minister’s meeting, Minister of Foreign Affairs Gedion Timothewos held discussions with Minister Wang Yi at his office. Minister Gedion underscored Ethiopia’s strong commitment to its robust and all-weather strategic partnership with China, noting that relations are built on a long history of friendship, solidarity, and mutual respect. He expressed gratitude for China’s ongoing support for Ethiopia’s development and reaffirmed Ethiopia’s dedication to strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.
Minister Gedion also highlighted the China-proposed Outlook on Peace and Development in the Horn of Africa (HOA) initiative, underlining its importance in addressing security, development, and governance challenges in the region. He reaffirmed Ethiopia’s commitment to advancing the bilateral partnership across multilateral platforms, including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), BRICS-plus, and the United Nations frameworks.
Minister Wang Yi noted that his visit to Africa marks his first overseas trip in 2016 and that Ethiopia is his first destination, reflecting China’s enduring solidarity with Africa and its role as a reliable strategic partner to Ethiopia. He reaffirmed China’s commitment to further strengthening comprehensive cooperation with Ethiopia across multiple areas.
Following their high-level meetings, Ethiopia and China issued a joint press release pledged to jointly advance the implementation of the outcomes of the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), deepen all-round cooperation, and strive to build the China-Ethiopia all-weather strategic partnership as a model for building an all-weather China-Africa community with a shared future for the new era.
The press release highlighted discussions on deepening cooperation in traditional areas including economy, trade, infrastructure, energy, transportation, and justice; tapping the potential for cooperation in emerging areas including e-commerce, digital economy, artificial intelligence, and green energy; and expanding cooperation in culture, tourism, media, education, and think tanks. Both sides highlighted their willingness to take the 2026 China-Africa Year of People-to-People Exchanges as an opportunity and promote people-to-people exchanges for closer bonds through culture and art.
The Chinese side appreciated the new achievements of Ethiopia’s national development, firmly supports Ethiopian people in exploring a development path that conforms to its national conditions and opposing external interference. Both sides stand ready to enhance coordination in development policies and strategies, promote exchanges in state governance experience and walk hand in hand on the path to modernization.
Ethiopia reaffirmed its firm commitment to the one-China principle, and reaffirms that there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal Government representing the whole of China, firmly opposes all forms of “Taiwan independence”, firmly supports all efforts by the Chinese Government to achieve national reunification, and resolutely defends the authority of the UNGA Resolution 2758.
The press release stated that China attaches great importance to Ethiopia’s role in the Horn of Africa. The Ethiopian side commends the results achieved under China’s Outlook on Peace and Development in the Horn of Africa. On the basis of respecting the UN Charter, international law and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries concerned, the Chinese side encourages regional countries to deepen connectivity cooperation and African integration in various fields such as promoting maritime logistics through access to the sea, through dialogue and diplomatic means for the purpose of promoting regional peace, stability and prosperity.
Both sides noted that the two countries have conducted effective coordination and cooperation in multilateral fields such as the UN and the BRICS, and strongly defended the common interests of the Global South. The Ethiopian side highly appreciated the series of major initiatives and proposals put forward by President Xi Jinping and is ready to work with the Chinese side for their implementation.
The press release further reaffirmed tthat all countries should abide by the basic principles established by the UN Charter and international law, respect sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, and oppose the use or threat of use of force in international relations.
Finally, both countries agreed to hold a new round of political consultations between their foreign ministries later this year.
First Ethiopia–Oman Bilateral Political Consultations Held in Addis Ababa
The first bilateral Political Consultation between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Sultanate of Oman was held in Addis Ababa on Monday (January 5). The consultation took place at the State Minister level, with the Ethiopian delegation led by Ambassador Hadera Abera, State Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Omani delegation led by Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali Al Harthy, Undersecretary for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman.
The consultation began with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) establishing a bilateral consultation mechanism between Ethiopia and Oman.
During his opening remarks, Ambassador Hadera emphasized that the MoU and the consultation platform are key to strengthening cooperation and facilitating the exchange of ideas on a mutually beneficial agenda. He noted that Ethiopia and Oman share a rich history and a long-standing partnership that has developed over nearly a century and highlighted that bilateral relations have continued to grow since the establishment of official diplomatic ties in 1995 through regular high-level visits.
The two sides discussed ways to expedite the signing of pending bilateral cooperation agreements and enhance the exchange of high-level visits to further deepen relations and explore new areas of collaboration for the mutual benefit of both countries.
On economic cooperation, they underscored the importance of strengthening trade and investment ties. They highlighted enhanced collaboration between Chambers of Commerce and private sector actors, as well as measures to combat illicit trade, as key steps to boost economic engagement. Both sides also agreed to activate mechanisms for joint business forums to promote investment and trade, building on the MoU signed in 2016 to foster business connections between their Chambers of Commerce.
In the area of social and cultural cooperation, the consultation recognized the importance of collaboration in higher education, health sciences, technology, culture, tourism, and air service connectivity. Both parties also agreed to facilitate legal overseas employment and combat illegal human trafficking, discussing ways to expedite the negotiation and signing of MoUs on labor and anti-smuggling initiatives.
The consultation further emphasized cooperation on regional and multilateral platforms to address shared challenges, including peace and security, counter-terrorism, illegal human trafficking, and the impacts of climate change.
At the conclusion of the session, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the decisions and agreements reached during the first round of the Bilateral Political Consultation and expressed their intent to continue enhancing their mutually beneficial partnership through future consultations.
In addition to the political consultation, the Omani delegation held a courtesy call with Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos and engaged in discussions with Minister of Labour and Skills Muferihat Kamil Ahmed, State Minister of Trade and Regional Integration Abdulakim Mulu, and State Minister of Agriculture Sofiya Kassa during their stay in Ethiopia.
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