Vietnamese Prime Minister Hosts Welcome Ceremony for Ethiopian Counterpart.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired an official welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on April 15 afternoon for Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed Ali and his spouse on an official visit to Vietnam where he will also attended the 4th Partnership for Green Growth and the Global Goals (P4G) Summit from April 14-17.

This is the first visit to Vietnam by a senior Ethiopian leader since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1976, and also the first high-level delegation exchange between the two countries in seven years. After the welcome ceremony, the PMs visited a photo exhibition on the two countries, their people and good relations between Vietnam and Ethiopia, which was jointly organised by the Government Office and the Vietnam News Agency.

The two leaders then held talks. During the visit, along with the talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, PM Abiy Ahmed Ali is scheduled to meet with the top leaders of the Party, State, and National Assembly of Vietnam; and participate in activities within the framework of the P4G Summit. The Ethiopian PM’s visit to Vietnam takes place in the context that the two countries are looking forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2026.

After half a century, the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Ethiopia has developed well. The Communist Party of Vietnam has a good relationship with the ruling Prosperity Party of Ethiopia. Ethiopia has recognised Vietnam’s market economy since 2014. The two sides regularly support each other at multilateral forums and international organisations.However, economic, trade, and investment relations between Vietnam and Ethiopia are still modest, not commensurate with their potential and political and diplomatic relations. Two-way trade turnover in the past four years has remained at 10 – 15 million USD annually.

Ethiopia has only one investment project in Vietnam with a total investment capital of 10,000 USD