Ethiopia, China agree to scale up multifaceted cooperation

By Mohammed Dhaaysane

HUDUR, Somalia (AA) – Ethiopia and China have agreed to further scale up multifaceted cooperation at bilateral, regional and multilateral venues.

In a statement, Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said the Chinese foreign affairs chief, Wang Yi, on Friday arrived in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa where he held talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the country's Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen Hassen.

Wang and Abiy discussed the strategic cooperation between both countries as well as regional peace.

“I received through him the message of President Xi Jinping. Ethiopia remains committed to enhancing its strategic cooperation with China,” the Ethiopian premier tweeted after the meeting.

The visit of Wang, the director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, to Africa comes as Beijing seeks to bolster its presence on the continent and he is the second-highest-ranking official from China to pay a visit to the continent in 2023.

Wang is expected to visit several African nations, including Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, ahead of the BRICS meeting in South Africa.

South Africa is the current chair of the BRICS – a group comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa – to challenge the US dominance in Africa.