Japan-Ethiopia Relations

On August 29, for about 15 minutes, from 11:15 a.m., Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a summit meeting with H.E. Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali, Prime Minister of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, in Yokohama, Japan. The overview of the meeting is as follows. Prime Minister Abiy is visiting Japan to participate in the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD7) held from August 28 to 30.

1. At the outset, Prime Minister Abe stated, “I highly value Prime Minister Abiy’s efforts to promote harmony within Ethiopia and to realize peace and stability in the region. I hope that Ethiopia will play a role in TICAD7 to promote business taking into account Ethiopia’s experiences in achieving economic development.” In response, Prime Minister Abiy extended Ethiopia’s appreciation for Japan’s cooperation in the Horn of Africa, and welcomed the TICAD process.
2. Following that, Prime Minister Abe expressed support for Prime Minister Abiy’s efforts to achieve the peace and stability of the Horn of Africa including the promotion of peace with Eritrea. Prime Minister Abe also stated that Japan will support reforms in Ethiopia such as democratization, and that, as part of the efforts to support Ethiopia’s reform, Japan will support the election in Ethiopia through “The Project for Electoral Support in Ethiopia,” a recently signed grant aid through the cooperation with the UNDP. Furthermore, Prime Minister Abe stressed his intention again to support roads construction that will further promote agricultural products, and stated that Japan will dispatch an agricultural expert with abundant experience to improve agricultural productivity in Ethiopia. Prime Minister Abe added that Japan would extend support to improve the quality of Ethiopia’s health and medical service through a grant aid “The Economic and Social Development Programme.” In response, Prime Minister Abiy welcomed Japan’s support and expressed his expectation for the expansion of investments from Japanese companies in the fields of agriculture, industries and energy, as well as Japan’s cooperation in human resources development.
3. The two leaders also exchanged views regarding cooperation in the international arena, including UN Security Council reform, and the North Korea situation.