No:010/25, Press release on the visit of Deputy Foreign Minister Yalchin Rafiyev to Ethiopia
16 January 2025 22:08
On 15-16 January 2025, the government mission of the Republic of Azerbaijan, led by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Yalchin Rafiyev, paid a visit to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia with the aim of expanding bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Ethiopia in political, economic, humanitarian and other fields.
During the visit, Yalchin Rafiyev held meetings with Alem Tsehay Paulos, Head of the Cabinet Office of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Minister of Foreign Affairs Gedion Timotheos, Minister of Trade and Regional Integration Kassahun Gofe, Minister of Agriculture Girma Amente, as well as the heads of the Ethiopian Investment Commission and Ethiopian Investment Holdings, and became acquainted with industrial parks and infrastructure projects in the country.
During the meetings held, it was emphasized that the discussions conducted during the reception of the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Mr. Taye Atske Selassie by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mr. Ilham Aliyev at the Leaders’ Summit of COP29 held in Baku opened a new page for the development of cooperation between the two countries and defined a roadmap.
Furthermore, specific areas of cooperation in trade, investment, agriculture, tourism, education and other fields were discussed, and it was agreed to establish a legal and contractual framework and to create working groups in the relevant areas. The necessity of organizing mutual trade missions and business forums was noted. Satisfaction was expressed with regard to the establishment of citizen service centers in Ethiopia based on Azerbaijan’s successful project in this field, the “ASAN service” concept, and the continuation of intensive work in this direction.
Within the framework of the visit, the 3rd meeting of political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was also held. The political consultations were led by Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan Yalchin Rafiyev from the Azerbaijani side, and by State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia Mesganu Arga from the Ethiopian side. During the political consultations, bilateral political and economic issues, as well as issues of cooperation within the framework of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement and other international organizations were discussed.
The government mission included representatives of the Ministries of Economy and Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the State Agency for Public Service and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, AZPROMO, the Azerbaijan Investment Holding and SOCAR.
