Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia Gedion Timothewos paid an official visit to the Russian Federation from October 20 to 21 to strengthen the bilateral and multilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Minister Gedion held talks with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation on a wide range of issues focused on regional, continental and global economic and security matters of mutual concern. The two Ministers discussed deepening the longstanding and strategic partnership between the two countries and agreed to work towards enhancing cooperation in various fields, including defense, security, trade, investment and technology transfer. They also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern.
FM Gedion also conferred with Maksim Reshetnikov Gennadievich, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and Co-Chair of the Ethiopian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation and Trade Commission. The two sides discussed the importance of further strengthening the multifaceted and longstanding cooperation between Ethiopia and the Russian Federation. Minister Maksim Reshetnikov assured Gedion that the Russian Federation fully supports Ethiopia’s accession to the WTO.
Foreign Minister Gedion indicated that currently, preparation is well underway to hold the 9th session of the Intergovernmental Russian-Ethiopian Commission on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Trade Cooperation in Moscow early in November. He noted that the meeting will serve as an important platform to evaluate the progress over the past recent years and explore new avenues of cooperation.
Gedion also held a discussion with the leadership of ROSATOM, Russia’s State Atomic Agency to enhance cooperation and expedite practical works in the spheres of nuclear technology and energy development in Ethiopia.
The Foreign Minister and his delegation paid a field visit to the Skolkovo Innovation Center in Moscow. The Innovation Center bridges the gap between startups and the opportunities available in Russia and helps innovators and small and medium-sized companies to find their success in the Russian market by connecting them to the Russian companies, investors, partners and professionals.