Russia is always ready to respect Ethiopia’s interests in the area of military-technical cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after talks with his Ethiopian counterpart, Gedion Timotheos.

"We spoke about the successful work of the intergovernmental working group on military-technical cooperation. It met in May. We have very good traditions in this sphere too and we are always ready to take into account our Ethiopian friends’ interests in the area of ensuring their defense capacities," he said.

The top Russian diplomat recalled that the latest talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed that took place on September 25 had yielded a range of important documents, including in the area of nuclear energy.

"We agreed that our foreign ministries will help develop and boost trade and economic ties, promote mutually beneficial energy projects, including in the nuclear energy sector. This is a new area of our cooperation," he said.

According to Lavrov, Russia and Ethiopia have good prospects and traditions of cooperation in such areas as public health, culture, and education.

"We decided to more efficiently use the potential of the intergovernmental commission for trade-and-economic and scientific-and-technical cooperation. We plan to organize its meeting in the near future," he added.

Foreign Affairs Minister of Ethiopia, for his part, expressed gratitude for the cordial invitation to pay an official visit to Russia, stating that “We have friendly and fruitful engagements previously on the sidelines of the BRICS both here in Russia and Brazil and I believe those encounters were very helpful in strengthening the bond between the two countries.”

The recent visit by Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed and the productive discussion he had with President Vladimir Putin was very important in providing guidance for our overall relationship, FM Gedion stated.

“I’m sure that the discussion and understanding reached at the time will provide the necessary impetus for our relationship.”

He described the signing of the construction of a nuclear power plant at home during this visit represent a historic milestone, adding that “we are confident that it will open a new chapter in the relationship between the Russian Federation and Ethiopia.”