Addis Ababa, September 30, 2026 (FMC) — Ethiopia and India have agreed to broaden defence cooperation across military training, exercises, peacekeeping, military medicine, technology and defence industry, giving further practical shape to the strategic partnership between the two countries.
The understanding was reached during the second Ethiopia–India Joint Defence Cooperation Meeting held in Addis Ababa on September 28, bringing together senior defence officials from both sides.
The meeting was co-chaired by Shri Sanjay Kumar, Joint Secretary at India’s Ministry of Defence, and Major General Teshome Gemechu, Director General for Defence Foreign Relations and Military Cooperation at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Defence.
The two sides discussed areas of mutual interest aimed at further strengthening bilateral defence cooperation, including expanded military training, joint exercises, medical cooperation, peacekeeping and defence-industrial engagement.
The discussions also covered technology and training support, including efforts to enhance capabilities associated with fifth-generation warfare, strengthen defence education through curriculum development, and advance the modernization of the Ethiopian Air Force and defence technology institutions.
The two countries agreed to put practical cooperation in peacekeeping into effect through joint training between India’s United Nations peacekeeping training center and Ethiopia’s peacekeeping training institute. They also agreed to facilitate exchanges of technical and medical professionals between their military hospitals.
The sides further agreed to conduct their first joint military exercise, expand exchanges of military delegations and professional experience, and explore joint investment in defence industries and research and development.
The expanded cooperation builds on decades of Ethiopia–India relations dating back to 1958 and comes within the broader framework of the strategic partnership between the two countries, which was elevated during the visit of India’s Prime Minister to Ethiopia in December 2025.
The latest defence understandings add a practical capability-building dimension to that partnership, linking professional military development and peacekeeping cooperation with technology, medical services, training and defence-industrial development.