Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said his country attaches “[…] great importance to further developing our centuries-old relations with the friendly people of Ethiopia.”

This came in a joint press briefing Erdogan gave together with his host Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Erdogan arrived in Addis Ababa on Tuesday for a state visit as per invitation accorded to him by Prime Minister Abiy.

“I congratulate Prime Minister Abiy on the political, social and economic transformation of Ethiopia since he took office,” Erdogan underscored, noting that that transformation gave him grace in the eyes of the whole world, whose attention, he said, now turned to the Horn of Africa.

The Turkish president, who had just enjoyed a guided tour of the Palace Museum has appreciated what he described as “Ethiopia's long established state structure and exemplary governance are becoming more and more important.”

Erdogan also hailed Ethiopia’s railway and airport infrastructure development and ongoing expansions that link up regional, continental and global markets.

He indicated Ethiopia’s revered Islamic culture, recounting the history of Nejashi and the tombs of the Companions of the Prophet at the Nejashi Mosque in Tigray regional state – a history, he said, marked the first pilgrimage and the first Islamic settlement on Africa and beyond.

TICA is the agency that restored the Nejashi mosque at Wukro in Tigray, enhancing the site’s significance as a Islamic pilgrimage and tourist destination.

-On Regional Stability-

Moving on to the issue of regional peace and stability, Erdogan said his country takes joy in seeing the normalization of relations between Ethiopia and Somalia holding.

Erdogan played a mediation role during brief period of tense relations between the two neighboring countries in 2024.

-Environment-

President Erdogan during the joint press briefing also said his country will cooperate with Ethiopia in hosting the COP32 two years from now.

Türkiye is due to host the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) in November.

“I once again thank the Prime Minister and the people of Ethiopia for the warm hospitality extended to myself and to my delegation. And finally, I wholeheartedly congratulate the Muslim community of Ethiopia on the holy month of Ramadan,” Erdogan said.

The two countries are expected to sign a raft of agreements during the two-day visit of the high-level Turkiye delegation led by President Erdogan.