India, Ethiopia to Amplify Global South Priorities Amid Headwinds

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali decided to elevate their bilateral ties to the level of 'Strategic Partnership', while also doubling down on promoting the priorities of Global South on the international stage during restricted and delegation-level talks at the National Palace in Addis Ababa on Tuesday.

“During the meeting, the two leaders noted that as Global South partners, the two countries must continue to contribute towards building an inclusive world,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (Economic Relations), Sudhakar Dalela, told reporters at a briefing at the Ethiopian capital on Wednesday morning.

Dalela, who is also India's BRICS Sherpa, said that both the leaders reaffirmed their mutual commitment to “amplify the voice of Global South” and work closely on matters of "mutual importance".

During the Summit-level talks on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi expressed support for Ethiopia’s accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and its membership to BRICS-backed New Development Bank (NDB), Dalela said.

The Indian Prime Minister also invited his Ethiopian counterpart to the upcoming BRICS Summit to be hosted by India next year under its rotating presidency of the 11-nation grouping. Ethiopia, where the headquarters of the African Union (AU) is based, was inducted into BRICS at the Kazan Summit as part of the group's most recent expansion.

Ethiopia has expressed its support for India’s upcoming BRICS presidency as well as the hosting of India-Africa Forum, which is aimed at further promoting South-South cooperation.

At the delegation-level talks, Prime Minister Modi described India and Ethiopia as "co-passengers and partners" of Global South. Modi recalled that it was under the Indian presidency of G-20 (2023) that the African Union (AU) was inducted as the intergovernmental organisation's newest member.

On his part, Aly stated that India-Ethiopia ties were rooted in "equality and in South-South solidarity". He remarked that there was a "strong alignment" between the home-grown philosophies of both the countries.

“Today, we need a clear focus to shape a modern partnership, grounded in sovereignty, self-reliance and practical cooperation," Aly said.

The Ethiopian PM lauded Prime Minister Modi's message that African priorities must be put at the forefront of not only bilateral ties, but also the global agenda.

Besides elevating their bilateral relationship, India and Ethiopia also signed several pacts to deepen their cooperation. These relate to mutual cooperation in customs matters, an implementation agreement for cooperation in United Nations (UN) Peacekeeping Operations Training, a signing of MoU on debt restructuring for Ethiopia under the G20 Common Framework and a pact for setting-up a data centre at the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry.

India has also announced the doubling of scholarships to Ethiopian scholars under the ICCR programme and specialised short-term courses for Ethiopian nationals in Artificial Intelligence (AI) among other outcomes.

The talks between the two leaders covered the areas of trade and investment, technology, education and capacity building, and defense cooperation. Modi also extended India's support to deepen ties in the fields of health security, digital health, traditional medicine, generic medicines (Jan Aushadhi Kendra), food security and agriculture among other fields.

The expanding cooperation between the two countries in bilateral and multilateral matters comes against the backdrop of growing concerns about the sidelining of Global South priorities from the American presidency of G20. While the last four G20 presidencies, held by Indonesia (2022), India (2023), Brazil (2024) and South Africa (2025), amplified concerns of developing nations in Global South, the American presidency's priorities make no reference to these goals.

G-20 Summit in New Delhi

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1 September 2023, 18:31