Prime minister Narendra Modi’s state visit at the end of the year 2025 to Ethiopia represented a notable point in the development of India-Africa relations. At a time of escalated geopolitical contest, renewed commitment to South-South cooperation and Africa’s expanding strategic prominence, this visit marked India’s vision to further strengthen its relations with one of the African continent’s most significant states. Ethiopia’s positioning as the diplomatic capital of Africa and host of the African Union additionally upraises the ties apart from bilateral diplomacy, embedding it within India’s broader continental and multilateral outreach (MEA 2025; DD News 2025a).

The Ethiopia visit was not aloof from past engagement but reasserted the traditionally established relations. Both the states share civilizational association expanding back over two millennia which was strengthened in the post-independence period by virtue of long-standing diplomatic relations (MEA 2022; News18 2025). Thus, the visit indicated both continuity and readjustment, aligning traditional ties with developing strategic preferences.

Ethiopia’s detailed role in India’s current strategic calculus is still overlooked despite increasing scholarly attention to India-Africa relations. This article aims to address this gap by focusing the recent visit through wider lenses of India–Ethiopia relations and looking into how factors such as economic, geopolitical and institutional interests foster the engagement. It argues that India’s engagement with Ethiopia demonstrates a transition from representative agreements toward a more formalised and strategically oriented form of cooperation.

Historical Context of India–Ethiopia Ties
The bilateral relations between the two states are rooted in pre-colonial trade and cultural connections rather than common colonial post. Unlike most of the nations of the African continent, Ethiopia was never formally conquered, and hence its ties with India are based on mutual respect and political autonomy. Ancient Indian Ocean trade networks especially during Aksumite Empire encouraged long term engagement by trade in spices, textiles, precious stones and agricultural items, authorized through monsoon-based maritime travel.

Apart from commerce, long-term ecological and agrarian continuities between the Indian subcontinent and the Ethiopian highlands, which are frequently connected to similar highland settings and related geological histories, resulted in parallel patterns of settlement, crop cultivation and subsistence. These natural affinities strengthened cultural familiarity and civilisational intimacy through mobility and exchange rather than conquest. This historical continuity still shapes post-1947 diplomatic engagement, besides recent transactional external engagements; based on commitment to sovereignty, strategic autonomy and South–South cooperation, which was later institutionalised through platforms like NAM.

India and Ethiopia further collaborated on basic issues such as education, technical assistance, agriculture and capacity-building. The Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme became a central instrument of engagement, facilitating human resource development and knowledge exchange (Embassy of India, Addis Ababa, n.d.). India’s approach emphasized partnership, mutual benefit and respect for each other’s national priorities.

These traditional frameworks continue to shape India’s contemporary diplomatic practice. The focus on capacity-building and non-intrusive engagement is still one of the most outlining features of India’s Africa policy, differentiating it from more securitized or extractive ways (Gateway House 2025; India Empire 2025). Simultaneously, changing geopolitical landscape and Africa’s increasing economic significance have promoted Ethiopia’s essence within India’s broader Africa strategy.

Ethiopia in India’s Contemporary Africa Strategy
Ethiopia is the second most populated state of Africa and is one of the central actors in India-Africa policy. The headquarters of the African Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa are in Ethiopia; making this country act both as an influential power in the region and the centre of diplomatic activities. Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa which additionally increases its pertinence during growing competition in the Red Sea–Indian Ocean corridor. Ethiopia acts both as a bilateral partner and as a gateway to broader continental engagement. 

India’s pursuance of this type of approach in regard to Ethiopia is a reflection of its hybrid strategy. In spite of geopolitical balancing, India embeds diplomacy of development with selective strategic engagement, which marks India as a reliant and unintrusive partner which aligns with New Delhi’s comprehensive strategy to act as a balancing middle power within the Global South. The PM’s visit underlined this transition. India and Ethiopia exhibited an extensive plan of action to strengthen political dialogue, economic cooperation and institutional linkages (DD News 2025b).

Economic and Developmental Engagements
India-Ethiopia economic partnership forms the basic structure of their contemporary relations. For example, their bilateral trade has augmented consistently. India invested largely in  pharmaceuticals, agriculture, textiles, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors, particularly spanning pharmaceutical and industrial sectors. Indian companies have played a major role ultimately assisting in domestic production and employment generation at Ethiopia (PIB 2025a).

Development partnership model primarily based on demand-driven assistance, technology transfer and capacity-building stands as a determining feature of India-Africa state engagement (MEA 2022; India Empire 2025). Ethiopia makes the most of concessional lines of credit, training programmes and educational exchanges aligned with national development priorities. India’s consistent contribution to Ethiopia’s overall growth serves its both developmental and strategic goals. At the same time, India consolidates its economic interdependence for the long run while consolidating its regional presence in the African continent.

The PM’s visit strengthened this approach through bilateral agreements in healthcare, skill development and industrial cooperation. India’s repeated pharmaceutical engagement reflects its comprehensive health diplomacy in the African continent and underpins institutional trust (DD News 2025a; NewsOnAir 2025). However, several factors such as infrastructure gaps, regulatory constraints and limited private-sector participation are some hurdles that obstruct the full realization of economic potential of the state. Resolving these persistent challenges that are hindering the full fledged implementation is very much necessary for conversion of diplomatic intent into substantial outcomes.

Geopolitical Dimensions and Strategic Importance
Bilateral relations between India and Ethiopia are ultimately shaped by economic engagements which operate within a comprehensive geopolitical situation. Ethiopia is located in the Horn of Africa which is at the crossroads of major maritime and security corridors connecting the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean region. India’s engagement with Ethiopia is a reflection of strategic calculus formed by regional instability, maritime security concerns and shifting global power dynamics. Unlike more securitized external approaches, India stresses on diplomacy, development and multilateral cooperation (Gateway House 2025).

Cultural Exchange and Societal Affiliation
Apart from state-sponsored initiatives, people-to-people connect is an important pillar of India–Ethiopia bilateral relations. Educational exchanges, technical training programmes and cultural engagement have fostered durable societal connections that complement formal diplomacy. India has also taken some steps in regard to development of Human Resources by launching fellowship schemes and capacity-building initiatives which contributed particularly in public administration, healthcare and engineering in Ethiopia (Embassy of India, Addis Ababa, n.d.). Such societal ties enhance the sustainability of bilateral relations and cultivate long-term good will that extend beyond government-to-government interaction.

Implications for Future Relations and Challenges Ahead
Political and eco-socio dimensions of India–Ethiopia co-operation have a long-term potential. However, addressing issues – comparatively low bilateral trade, connectivity problems and implementation gaps – is important because instability in the region of Horn of Africa additionally muddles the sustained engagement.

The rising competition from external state actors such as China, states of the Gulf Region and dominant western powers poses structural threats to India. Without sustained institutional follow-through and risk-sensitive engagement, India’s aspirations might suffer. Simultaneously, existing economic reforms in Ethiopia and India’s extending diplomatic impressions create fresh opportunities in sectors of renewable energy, digital infrastructure, higher education and manufacturing value chains too could notably intensify bilateral ties. Though, the Ethiopian government’s concern regarding development autonomy, debt sustainability and post-conflict state consolidation have impacted its rising preference for strengthening ties with India over big powers like China and western states.

India’s engagement model emphasises capacity building through grants, scholarships and Lines of Credit with no equity claims or overt geopolitical conditions. In contrast to China’s BRI whose extensive financing has raised concerns about debt exposure, particularly in light of the Tigray conflict and continuing foreign exchange constraints. This tendency was reflected in the 2025 Strategic Partnership, which prioritised debt restructuring inside the G20 framework and locally integrated investments that supposedly created over 75,000 employment. (DD News 2025a). 

Ethiopian policymakers, too, firmly believe that Western participation has frequently been mediated through governance conditions and human rights criteria that are not sufficiently responsive to the needs of state-building and post-conflict rehabilitation. The African Union’s Agenda 2063, which emphasises self-reliance and endogenous development is more closely aligned with India’s people-centric development approach which is demonstrated by investments in healthcare infrastructure, the spread of Digital Public Infrastructure, and the growth of ICCR fellowship programs (Gateway House 2025; MEA 2025). This convergence of developmental interests, bolstered by long-standing civilisational relationships, has resulted to a partnership based on trust rather than reliance. Therefore, Ethiopia’s rising interaction with India is a kind of strategic hedging meant to maintain policy autonomy in an increasingly contentious geopolitical context in the Horn of Africa rather than alignment against rival powers (News18, 2025).

Conclusion
Thus, Modi’s state visit to Ethiopia during December 16-17 was a strategic inflection point in the bilateral relations. It indicated India’s attempt to align development cooperation with geopolitical pragmatism, which is traditionally rooted and continues to be shaped by current strategic imperatives. India has shown its dedication to long-term, multilateral engagements by reinforcing the prominence of Ethiopia in its Africa policy. The integration of political trust, economic cooperation and mutual developmental goals forms a robust base for future partnership. However, it will necessitate continuous political attention, institutional coherence and policy execution adaptability. Finally, the ties between India and Ethiopia exemplify the wider shift in India’s involvement in the African continent, from showcasing representative solidarity to organised strategic collaboration which will establish both states as major players in influencing the rapidly changing dynamics of the Global South and growing multipolar global world order.

References
DD News. 2025a. “India and Ethiopia Deepen Bilateral Ties with Key Sector Agreements.”
DD News. 2025b. “India, Ethiopia Unveil Strategic Roadmap, Set Course for Deeper Ties during PM Modi’s Visit.”
Embassy of India, Addis Ababa. n.d. “Political Bilateral Relations: Ethiopia.”
Gateway House. 2025. “Ethiopia Is a Key Ally in Africa.”
India Empire. 2025. “Ethiopia and India Relations.”
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India. 2022. India–Ethiopia Bilateral Relations.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India. 2025. “Visit of Prime Minister to Jordan, Ethiopia, and Oman (December 15–18, 2025).”
News18. 2025. “India–Ethiopia Ties: How a 2,000-Year Bond Entered a New Strategic Phase after PM Modi’s Visit.”
NewsOnAir. 2025. “PM Modi Arrives in Addis Ababa for First Visit to Ethiopia, Set to Address Parliament.”
Press Information Bureau (PIB), Government of India. 2025a. “India’s Engagements with Ethiopia.”
Press Information Bureau (PIB), Government of India. 2025b. “Press Note Details.”

Dr. Gayettri Dixit is Assistant Professor, Centre for African Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Akshan Ranjan is a PhD Research Scholar, Centre for African Studies, JNU.