Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed Meets Indian Counterpart Narendra Modi to Drive Practical Cooperation in Defence, Technology and Mining

Addis Ababa, September 12, 2026 (FMC) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, with the two leaders discussing ways to translate the longstanding Ethiopia–India relationship into deeper and more practical cooperation across strategic sectors.

In a social media post following the bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Abiy said the discussions covered defence cooperation, technology transfer, capacity building, mining and the partnership between Ethiopia and India toward COP32. He said these areas “hold immense potential to deepen practical cooperation and create new opportunities for our peoples.”

The meeting formed part of Prime Minister Abiy’s first official visit to India, which he said provided an opportunity to exchange views with Prime Minister Modi on strengthening the Ethiopia–India partnership.

Reflecting on the broader relationship, Prime Minister Abiy underscored the deep historical and people-to-people bonds between the two countries. He said Ethiopia and India share “deep historic ties, longstanding cultural connections, and strong bonds between our people.”

At the same time, he pointed to considerable room for the relationship to grow, saying that “much of the potential between our two countries remains untapped.”

Prime Minister Abiy said the current moment offers an opportunity to move beyond the goodwill and historical foundations of the relationship toward a more ambitious phase of cooperation. He said, “I believe the time is right to translate our shared history and goodwill into a more ambitious and mutually beneficial partnership.”

He further outlined the foundations he sees as essential to that next phase, saying the partnership should be “grounded in technology, skills, investment, sustainable development, and stronger people-to-people ties.”

The emphasis on practical cooperation reflects the breadth of areas identified during the meeting, from strategic cooperation and technology transfer to capacity building and mining, while also linking Ethiopia and India’s engagement to the global climate agenda through their partnership toward COP32.

The meeting comes as Prime Minister Abiy leads a high-level Ethiopian delegation to the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi. The two-day summit is being held under India’s 2026 chairship theme, “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”