Ethiopian Prime Minister Calls Russia 'Brotherly Country', Discusses Bilateral Issues With Putin

Abiy Ahmed said his delegation was "deeply interested" in discussing bilateral and regional issues with Russia, which he described as a "brotherly country" to Ethiopia, and expressed hope that his current visit to St. Petersburg would strengthen cooperation between the two states.

"I hope this would be very fruitful discussion. We are very happy, we are very glad to be here to join our fellow African leaders for the summit. Besides that, we also have deepest interest to discuss with you, as a friend, as a brotherly country, both our bilateral issues and regional issues," Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stated.

The head of the Ethiopian government said he intends to discuss bilateral and multilateral issues, including security, economic cooperation, technology exchange and trade. He also expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome to the Ethiopian delegation in St. Petersburg.

"This is my first time in St. Petersburg, I find it very beautiful. I know Russia was close to my country in terms of culture, diplomacy [...] . We have a very long history, we've been passing through lots of ups and downs together. This visit, in my opinion, will strengthen our relationship," he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, for his part, said at the meeting with the Ethiopian leader that a large package of joint documents, including on information and energy, had been prepared for his visit.

"We have prepared a whole package of documents for your visit, among them an intergovernmental agreement on information security, on air traffic, a memorandum of understanding in the field of information and communication technologies, a roadmap for cooperation in the use of atomic energy, a protocol between customs services," Putin said during the meeting.

Joint work is underway on more than a dozen intergovernmental agreements and interdepartmental projects, Putin added. According to the president, the meeting will include in-depth discussions of topical issues on the bilateral and international agenda.

"We highly appreciate the long-standing friendly relations between Russia and Ethiopia, which are based on the principles of mutual respect and consideration of each other's interests," the Russian leader said.

Putin thanked the prime minister of Ethiopia and the entire delegation of the country for the decision to come to the Russia-Africa Summit.

The Russian president pointed out that the two countries maintain a regular political dialogue, in particular, the heads of foreign ministries closely cooperate.

"Russia and Ethiopia share the same position on resolving many topical issues on the global agenda," Putin stressed.

He expressed hope that today's talks and work at the Russia-Africa Summit would be fruitful and contribute to the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

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The meeting between Putin and Abiy Ahmed kicked off a series of separate talks scheduled for this week between the Russian leader and the heads of delegations arriving for the Russia-Africa Summit. Putin last met with the Ethiopian prime minister during the first edition of the summit in Sochi in 2019.