India and Ethiopia Discuss Strengthening Defense Cooperation

New Delhi, September 2: India and Ethiopia have engaged in discussions to enhance their bilateral defense cooperation. The talks took place on Wednesday in New Delhi between Nebiyu Tedla, the Ethiopian Ambassador in charge, and Amitabh Prasad, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Defense.

During the meeting, both parties explored various avenues to advance defense collaboration between India and Ethiopia. Key topics included military training, cooperation in the defense industry, and issues related to United Nations peacekeeping missions. Notably, India is promoting defense industrial partnerships with African nations, leveraging its indigenous defense production capabilities. Collaboration with Ethiopia in the defense sector could create new opportunities for technological partnerships and capacity building in the future.

The meeting emphasized the importance of expanding partnerships not only in traditional areas but also in new and emerging sectors. The goal is to strengthen cooperation between the defense institutions of both countries and to benefit from each other’s experiences and expertise. Military training has been a significant area of focus in the defense relations between India and Ethiopia. Increasing training opportunities will allow military personnel to learn from each other’s experiences, operational procedures, and expertise.

India has a long-standing history of collaborating with African nations in defense capacity building and training. Discussions also covered the potential for advancing cooperation in this direction with Ethiopia. India and Ethiopia established their first joint defense cooperation mechanism in October 2025, identifying new areas for defense collaboration.

Cooperation in the defense industry was also a major topic during the meeting. Both countries are focusing on exploring new opportunities in defense equipment, technical capabilities, and industrial collaboration. They also discussed cooperation in United Nations peacekeeping missions, where both India and Ethiopia are significant contributors. This opens up extensive possibilities for collaboration in training, sharing experiences, and enhancing capabilities related to peacekeeping missions.

A crucial aspect of the meeting was the emphasis on expanding defense cooperation beyond traditional military domains into new and emerging areas. This approach could help adapt the defense relations between India and Ethiopia to evolving security needs.