Ethiopia, India Collaborate by Respecting Interests of Each Country: Ambassador Shetkintong

April 17/2021(ENA)  Ethiopia and India have been working together to further strengthen bilateral relations by respecting the interests of each country, India's Ambassador to Ethiopia Robert Shetkintong said.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the ambassador said Ethiopia and India have been exerting efforts to cement their bilateral relations based on their existing long-standing relationship in multifaceted spheres.

Ethiopia has been appreciative of the fact that India has never been hostile to Ethiopian interests, Ambassador Shetkintong said, adding that “Ethiopia has (also) been consistent in its support for India in the international fora on various issues.”

According to him, “India will not stand in the way of Ethiopia's interest and vice-versa. We have always looked our relations as equals.”

The two countries have been working together on bilateral and multilateral fora on various issues.

Ambassador Shetkintong pointed out that the countries “have always worked together even at UN Security Council. India took a principled stand that every country has to decide its own destiny or that what happened here is for Ethiopia to address it properly. So, that is why you  see India always takes a principled stand whether it’s for brothers and sisters of Africa or for everyone.”

The principle India stands for is that it’s the country sovereignty that is important. The country has to protect its sovereignty and decide its destiny, he underscored.

The ambassador further stated that the two countries have enjoyed vibrant political relationship and high officials of the two countries visited each others countries.

With respect to development partnership, “India and Ethiopia have a strong development partnership based on mutual understanding and respect, and sense of genuine partnership drawing on the principle of South-South cooperation.”

This partnership comprises of capacity-building cooperation through technical training, grants towards support to people, and concessional lines of credit for projects based on the priorities identified by Ethiopia, Ambassador Shetkintong elaborate.

The ambassador recalled that people of India had organized demonstration to show their solidarity with the people of Ethiopia when foreign powers entered Addis Ababa in 1936. 

India and Ethiopia have long-standing economic and commercial relations, which are centuries old and can be traced back over 2,000 years of recorded history.