Ethiopia-Russia Relations Gaining Momentum across Major Spheres, Says Envoy

Addis Ababa, May 14, 2025 (ENA)— Ethiopia and Russia are further enhancing close and robust relationships, marked by strong diplomatic ties, political cooperation, and shared interests for development, Ethiopian Ambassador to the Russian Federation Genet Teshome said.

Approached by Ethiopian News Agency's reporter who was deployed to Moscow last weekend, Ambassador Genet Teshome said the Ethiopia-Russian cooperation is gaining momentum across various fields of partnership.

President Taye Atske Selassie attended Russia’s 80th anniversary of the Victory Day on May 9, 2025, commemorating the end of World War II together with a considerable number of the heads of state and governments around the world.

For ambassador Genet, the presence of a high-level Ethiopian delegation led by President Taye is an impetus to deepen a 128-year of solid bilateral relations between the two nations.

President Taye Atske Selassie’s participation has a significant positive impact. First of all, Ethiopia and Russia have a very long-standing relationship, and they have multifaceted cooperation including in the political sphere.

 Thus, the President's participation has been instrumental to further strengthen the bilateral relationship, he stated.

Ethiopia has become Russia’s strategic partner, the ambassador stated, adding that the relationship extends beyond trade and economic ties and multilateral cooperation.

The ambassador emphasized Russia's significant role in supporting Ethiopia's accession to BRICS, actively backing its integration into the bloc, until its full membership took effect on 1st January 2024. 

Ethiopia’s membership to BRICS has become extremely important to expand the country's role within the group as well as pursue for greater collaboration on trade, security, and investment with Russia and the African continent as well, he elaborated.

Speaking of the ongoing cooperation between Ethiopia and Russia, the two countries are actively working together in the spheres of health, education, space science, technology, geospatial and other areas.

“The bilateral relation between Ethiopia and Russia is a very longstanding one. It spans more than a century. It's a multifaceted bilateral relationship in political, technology, educational and health affairs, and now we have new areas of cooperation in the framework of nuclear technology for peaceful energy development,” he said.

Most importantly, Ambassador Genet elaborated Ethiopia and Russia’s relationship is strengthening across various domains, including trade, and investment.

Currently, Russian investors are increasingly looking toward Africa, particularly Ethiopia, as a promising investment destination, he indicated.

As Ethiopia offers significant opportunities due to its growing economy, strategic location, macroeconomic reforms, and improving business climate, he said, adding efforts are being carried out to encourage investors to seize this opportunity.

Mentioning improvements in the trade sector, especially since the demand for coffee has increased in the world market, Russian companies have started buying coffee directly from Ethiopia, the ambassador pointed out.