It is known that Ethiopia’s diplomatic policy has always been based on the national interest first and foremost, irrespective of ideological issues, partisanship of any kind, be it the conservative or liberal camps in terms of political stance. The countries with which it has relations can be rich ones and less rich ones, striving to achieve new development and growth.
Ethiopia engages with any country that could add something of value to its current national interests.
Ethiopia has consistently maintained diplomatic, political, economic, and cultural relations with all countries in the world, provided there are no undue interferences in its internal affairs. It can develop and enrich its relations with these countries in line with the priorities of the national interest of the nation. Ethiopia does not commit for permanent and lasting, unconditional and exclusive engagements with a certain nation a priori, disregarding others as if they would not serve its cause or its future relations. The Ethiopian government has always believed in promoting and standing for peace and stability in the world at large, let alone in the relations at the bilateral level or regional level.
All its policies have been around this basic view and principle. It respects international law and practice aimed at conserving international order and stability. At the same time, it never indulges in controversies and disputes in its relations with other countries, nor does it encroach on the internal affairs of those countries with which it may entertain close relations. It always strives to act fairly in a principled manner without violating the rights of others. It has always believed in the principle of peaceful coexistence, even when there could be differences in outlooks and beliefs. The relations must also be based on equality, reciprocity, and mutual benefits aimed at favouring both countries in any bilateral relations. It also makes sure that there is mutual respect in its relations with other nations.
Since time immemorial, Ethiopia has been building up its image as a truly peace-loving country which has never engaged itself in any form of aggression against other states, unlike what we see in many circumstances around the world. We have lately experienced these negative experiences between adjacent states due to various kinds of misunderstandings, disputes, and claims. This is observed particularly in multiple African countries, but it also exists in other continents. The world has never been devoid of similar challenges in the international order, and we have seen those international bodies such as the UN or other regional or continental bodies such as the AU and the IGAD trying to intervene in the interest of peace before the situation bursts into armed hostilities. Often, diplomacy may fail, and recourse to violence may not be possible to avoid.
Ethiopia’s pursuit is the development of its economy while trying to extricate its population from poverty and backwardness and achieve an acceptable standard of living for its nationals. In so doing, it does not want its trajectory of growth to be impeded or constrained by controversies and tensions with other nations. Even when there were cases of misunderstanding and disputes that resulted in hostilities, Ethiopia has never rejected proposals of peace and closed every door to reconciliation. A typical example is the one that has made lasting and reliable peace with Italy, even after having passed years of hostilities that were unleashed by the other side.
Ethiopia has had mixed relations with Italy for more than a century. It has had its misunderstandings and disputes. It was even subjected to attacks by Italy due to geopolitical issues when countries of Europe were engaged in colonizing African states. History books talk about Italy invading Ethiopia in two different epochs in the 1890s and the 1930s. Two bitter wars were fought between the two nations. Ethiopia was on the receiving end of the massive damages as it was its sovereignty and territorial integrity were violated by the invading forces.
After all these incidents had happened, once the war came to an end, a new beginning was to start in the relations between Ethiopia and Italy. Hence, the history of the relations between the two countries began again with new chapters to be written. A process of reconciliation was carried out, and the Ethiopian emperor was gracious in his approach to Italy and decided to pardon all Italian forces who were still in the country when he returned from his exile at the end of the war. He even invited them to forget the past and be a part of the local community and live here peacefully.
That was considered a wise and gracious diplomatic move that was admired by many, and beginning from the aftermath of the occupation, a new relationship was opened between the two nations. To solidify the new beginning, the emperor paid a state visit to Italy in the nineteen sixties and signed multiple cooperation agreements with Italy in various fields, including cultural, scientific, and trade relations. The Italian government offered all sorts of assistance to Ethiopia to help it develop in all of these areas. The development cooperation of Italy with Ethiopia grew by leaps and bounds over the years, and investment and trade between the two countries expanded. Italy became one of the biggest donors to Ethiopia. It is a testimony that the past had already been forgotten.
It is this tradition of close relations that has endured all the past decades, and the intensity and extent of the relations between the two countries continued to be enhanced with successive Ethiopian and Italian leaders and their people-to-people relations.
A few days ago, the visits of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) to European countries could be taken as a continuation of the diplomatic ventures of Ethiopia with other countries. During his visits, he engaged fruitfully with the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, the Italian Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, and the newly elected Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. He toured along with his delegation and gathered valuable experience that could be of benefit to the development ventures in our country in the areas of specialization of the countries visited.
The recent exchanges of visits between the leaders of the nation sum up the kind of relations that exist between Ethiopia and France, as well as Italy. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has paid visits to France and Italy under the two leaders with whom he met and held important discussions on bilateral as well as multilateral issues of common interest. Both President Macron and Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni paid official visits to Ethiopia under the reformist government of Premier Abiy.
These reciprocal visits have helped the bilateral relations reach a new and unprecedented level, intensifying the involvement of the two countries’ companies and entrepreneurs to come here and invest, increase trade relations, and, by so doing, contribute to the efforts exerted by Ethiopia to defeat poverty and backwardness.
In Italy, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held protracted talks with his Italian counterpart, Georgia Meloni, who has now become one of the most influential European leaders. She is also one of the most popular politicians in Europe with a huge constituency and hence leverage. The two premiers also discussed not only bilateral relations but also regional and international issues that are pertinent to both nations.
In this respect, Ethiopia’s influence in the African world is also to be noted. The fact that Italy has close relations with East African nations and has engagements in many countries in Africa has made the discussions even more important in terms of fighting poverty, bringing peace and stability to the entire region, and continuously working to guarantee peace and stability, preventing situations of conflict and confrontation. The issue of illegal migration and human trafficking was also among the issues that were addressed with the two leaders.
In the same trip to Italy, the prime minister also stopped at the Vatican and met with the newly elected Catholic Pope Leo XIV to talk about a whole range of topics, particularly the quest for peace, which is an important and burning issue for the holy pontiff. The leaders also talked about the expansion of education in Ethiopia because the Vatican has always had a role to play in Ethiopian education.
The premier has also visited France and had talks with President Emmanuel Macron, whom he defines as a ‘dear friend’. Given that the French president was among the first leaders from Europe who paid a visit to Ethiopia under the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the two have developed very close relations. France has become one of the biggest partners of Ethiopian development projects by financing and helping with its knowledge and experience in conserving historical artifacts and heritages with the renovation of Ethiopia’s historical treasures that needed it such as the Lalibela rock hewn churches, the renovation of the National Palace in Addis Ababa and other development projects.
These are substantial contributions to the expansion of the tourism industry, and the French experience in this field is immense, as France is one of the most visited countries in the world by tourists. The tourism industry has always generated huge income for the French economy, with millions visiting it every year. In the discussions with the French Prime Minister, the relations between the two countries were elevated to a new high with more involvement of France in the economic growth trajectory of Ethiopia. The premier has visited various technology hubs, including Station F, Nokia France, and Thales Research and Technology, innovations in AI, cybersecurity, and telecommunications. On the same occasion, he visited the restored Notre Dame Cathedral, where he was briefed on how it was made to recover from the fire that had damaged it enormously.
In his talks with President Macron, Prime Minister Abiy raised the issue of Ethiopia regarding access to the sea in a secure and lasting manner, and has had his full support. Macron has also supported Ethiopia’s economic reforms and debt restructuring efforts, as well as its economic stability and growth. It can be noted here that the strong relationship between Ethiopia and France plays a vital role not only in deepening the economic and political bond of the two countries but also in establishing a favorable environment for growth.
May 2025 has gone down as a very dynamic month for Ethiopia, marked by domestic progress, digital innovation, and international agreements aimed at advancing Ethiopia’s development goals. This has also strengthened its image in the international sphere and enhanced its global partnerships. Moreover, besides his visits to Europe, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has had several high-level domestic diplomatic meetings with ministers who came representing the leaderships from Angola, Israel, and Qatar. One can observe that Ethiopia’s diplomatic and political overture with multiple countries all over the world is a constant of its foreign policies.
BY FITSUM GETACHEW
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 7 JUNE 2025
