April 17, 2025
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, together with First Lady Zinash Tayachew and a high-level delegation, is paying a historic three-day official visit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam from April 15 to 17, at the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Among the senior officials accompanying the Prime Minister is Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos. This landmark visit marks Ethiopia’s first high-level official engagement with Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1976, heralding a new chapter of comprehensive partnership and cooperation.
Upon arrival at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, PM Abiy and his delegation received a warm welcome from Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang and Vietnamese Ambassador to Ethiopia Vu Thanh Huyen—signaling the high importance Vietnam attaches to this visit and the growing bilateral ties.
On Tuesday (April 15), PM Abiy was accorded full state honors at the Presidential Palace, where he and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh inspected the guard of honor and held bilateral talks. The official welcoming ceremony was a symbolic reaffirmation of mutual respect, long-standing friendship, and the strategic significance both nations attach to deepening cooperation in the face of global challenges and opportunities.
During the extensive talks, the two leaders discussed wide-ranging areas of cooperation, reaffirming their shared vision to strengthen political trust and institutional collaboration. The two nations, representing a combined population of over 230 million, are among the fastest-growing economies in their respective regions. Recognizing this potential, the leaders agreed to create enabling legal and institutional frameworks for trade and investment and partnerships in cybersecurity and the fight against high-tech crime.
The talks highlighted priority sectors for economic cooperation, notably agriculture, infrastructure, education, mining, health, digital transformation, telecommunications, industrial manufacturing, and tourism. Ethiopia welcomed Vietnam’s emerging interest in investing in its dynamic economy and recognized the potential of Vietnamese enterprises to play a catalytic role in Ethiopia’s development.
Prime Minister Abiy also participated in a joint photo exhibition showcasing the historic journey of Ethiopia-Vietnam ties, organized by the Vietnam News Agency, underscoring the importance of cultural diplomacy and people-to-people connection.
Crucially, the two prime ministers witnessed the signing of landmark agreements, including a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Trade Cooperation between Ethiopia’s Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration and Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade, and an MoU on Education Cooperation between both countries’ ministries of education. These agreements serve as foundational frameworks for expanding sectoral collaboration in trade and human capital development.
The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations also discussed forging cooperation through signing an MOU, signaling growing interest from both business communities in forging commercial partnerships.
In a pivotal development, Vietnam officially granted approval for Ethiopian Airlines to launch the first direct air route between Addis Ababa and Hanoi. The establishment of this route represents a transformational step toward enhancing economic, cultural, and people-to-people connectivity between Ethiopia and Southeast Asia.
Beyond economic ties, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism and their shared principles on regional peace and stability. The leaders emphasized the importance of peaceful resolution of disputes. They agreed to continue supporting each other in international fora, including the United Nations and the Non-Aligned Movement.
Prime Minister Abiy extended a formal invitation to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh to visit Ethiopia, which was accepted with pleasure. The two countries also pledged to explore the establishment of permanent diplomatic missions in each other’s capitals to institutionalize bilateral cooperation and improve consular services.
The delegation also met with General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam. Prime Minister Abiy underscored Ethiopia’s interest in learning from Vietnam’s remarkable post-war recovery and development model. Both leaders emphasized the importance of party-to-party cooperation as the political bedrock of bilateral ties and agreed to expand ideological, institutional, and capacity-building exchanges between the Prosperity Party and the Communist Party of Vietnam.
General Secretary To Lam lauded Ethiopia’s rapid socio-economic transformation under Prime Minister Abiy’s leadership and welcomed the upcoming direct air link as a tangible initiative to bridge the two regions. Prime Minister Abiy reaffirmed Ethiopia’s admiration for Vietnam’s independence, resilience, and developmental success, and expressed the country’s keenness to draw practical lessons from Vietnam’s experience in agricultural modernization, industrial development, and environmental management.
As a committed champion of green growth, Prime Minister Abiy also delivered Ethiopia’s opening remarks at the 4th Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) Summit held on Wednesday (April 16) in Hanoi. His remarks highlighted Ethiopia’s leadership on climate resilience, sustainable development, and green industrialization—core pillars of the country’s Green Legacy Initiative.
This historic visit—coinciding with preparations for the 50th anniversary of Ethiopia–Vietnam diplomatic relations in 2026—sets a powerful precedent for South-South solidarity, strategic economic alignment, and enhanced people-to-people ties between two countries with rich histories, bold reform agendas, and shared aspirations for inclusive, sustainable development.