On 17th February, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Ethiopia. This is the second such visit – the first took place in 2015. Turkey’s foreign policy has changed dramatically since. Ankara has become more engaged across Africa, especially in the Sahel and the eastern part of the continent. Before the trip to Ethiopia, the Turkish president also visited Egypt, furthering the normalisation process with the Arab country and highlighting how Ankara increasingly applies a regional approach to this part of Africa.
Relations between Ankara and Addis Ababa have been friendly for over a century, despite alignment within rival blocs during the Cold War. In 1926, Ethiopia was the first country the young Turkish Republic recognised in Sub-Saharan Africa. The particular expansion of ties has taken place over the past years and is well reflected in a 2024 deal[i] that Ankara helped secure between Ethiopia and Somalia regarding potential sea access for Ethiopian trade.
During Erdoğan’s visit, the countries signed[ii] a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation that would lead to joint production and projects. This particularly concerns cooperation in hydroelectric energy, the area in which Turkey has extensive know-how. Given that Ethiopia wants to develop energy beyond the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the Turkish experience will be of vital importance. Both sides also discussed cooperation regarding COP31, which will be held in Turkey in 2026, and then in Ethiopia next year.
Read the full article on Manara Magazine.
Emil Avdaliani is a Research Fellow at the Turan Research Center.