Ethio-India Strategic Partnership Agreements Making Headway: Ambassador Rai

Addis Ababa, January 21, 2026 (ENA)—The Ethio-India strategic partnership agreements are progressing well, following the recent historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Ethiopia, according to Anil Kumar Rai, India’s Ambassador to Ethiopia.

It is to be recalled that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to elevate bilateral ties to a strategic partnership, focusing on deepening cooperation across multiple spheres.

The two leaders decided to elevate the relationship from friendly to strategic partnership, which requires high level engagement at the political leadership level, Ambassador Rai noted.

The agreement has become even more important because last month, in mid of December, the leaders decided to elevate the relationship from bilateral to strategic partnership during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Ethiopia.

A strategic partnership requires continuous, constant high-level engagement at the political leadership level, Ambassador elaborated, adding that the implementation of the visa waiver agreement for diplomatic passport holders will enable strategic consultations.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, Ambassador Rai said Ethiopia and India are taking significant steps in the implementation of the other agreements signed by the two countries too.

The agreement to implement visa waiver for holders of diplomatic passport has been realized; and this shows the trust and confidence between the two countries, he stated.

“We have signed the agreement to implement the bilateral visa waiver for the holders of diplomatic passport; and this means that those who hold the diplomatic passport, can travel to each other's country without obtaining a visa.”

This is a very important move as it demonstrates the trust and confidence between the countries, he stressed.

According to the Ambassador, the agreement is expected to further ease diplomatic travel, promote efficient interaction, and strengthen cooperation between Ethiopia and India, reflecting the growing strategic partnership between the two nations.

Moreover, the two sides have also signed agreements focused on tech, trade, health, establishment of a data center for Ethiopia's Foreign Ministry, AI training, customs cooperation, and G20 debt restructuring, among others.

Out of various outcomes that were agreed during the visit of the Prime Minister, India has already supported Ethiopia in the G20 debt restructuring process, Ambassador Rai said.

The other aspect is creation of a data center for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the work for creation of the data center is going to start shortly, he added.

“We are working on all action points, which emerged out of the meeting; and we are trying to ensure that the decisions taken by the leaderships are implemented in a time bound manner.”

For Ambassador Rai, Ethiopia is an important partner from the Global South, and there are multiple areas where both the countries can cooperate.