New Delhi: India and Ethiopia have discussed expanding bilateral defence cooperation, with military training, defence industry collaboration and participation in United Nations peacekeeping emerging as key areas of engagement.
The discussions took place between Amitabh Prasad, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, and Nebiyu Tedla, Charge d’Affaires at the Ethiopian Embassy in New Delhi. The two sides also explored cooperation in new and emerging areas of defence and security.
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The engagement comes as India continues to strengthen its defence partnerships across Africa, increasingly combining traditional military cooperation with capacity building, defence-industrial engagement and technology partnerships.
Training and capacity building have traditionally been important elements of India's defence engagement with African countries. However, the growing emphasis on defence industry cooperation points towards a potentially broader relationship.
India has been seeking to expand the international footprint of its domestic defence industry, with Indian-made platforms, equipment and technologies increasingly being positioned for overseas markets.
For Ethiopia, deeper engagement with India could provide access to training, technical expertise and potential industrial cooperation. For India, stronger defence ties with Ethiopia could create another channel for expanding its presence in the African defence market.
The two countries already have an institutional framework for defence cooperation. A Defence Cooperation MoU signed in 2025 provides for collaboration in areas including defence industry, cybersecurity, joint research and development and capacity building. The first India-Ethiopia Joint Defence Cooperation meeting was subsequently held in New Delhi in October 2025.
Ethiopia occupies an important position in the Horn of Africa and is home to the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa. Its strategic location gives its relationships with external powers a wider regional dimension.
For India, closer defence engagement with Ethiopia fits into its broader effort to strengthen relations with African countries through security cooperation, development partnerships and institutional engagement.
The relationship is also not limited to defence. India and Ethiopia maintain wider economic ties, with India being one of Ethiopia's major trading partners. Bilateral trade stood at approximately US$550 million in 2024–25, according to India's Ministry of External Affairs.
The defence-export opportunity:
The most strategically significant element of the latest talks may be the reference to defence industry collaboration.
As India seeks to transform its defence sector from a primarily domestic production base into a globally competitive industry, partnerships with countries in Africa could become increasingly important.
African nations have diverse requirements ranging from military training and surveillance to mobility platforms, communications systems and other defence equipment. India's ability to offer cost-effective systems alongside training and maintenance support could strengthen its position as a defence partner.
The objective, therefore, is not just to sell equipments but to have a long-term model that could involve training + technology + manufacturing + maintenance + defence diplomacy, creating deeper and more sustainable defence relationships.
India and Ethiopia are also major contributors to international peacekeeping efforts, making UN Peacekeeping a natural area for closer cooperation.
Greater coordination in this field can facilitate the exchange of operational experience, training practices and lessons from multinational deployments.
This provides an additional avenue for military-to-military engagement while reinforcing India's wider diplomatic engagement with Africa.
The latest India-Ethiopia discussions reflect a broader evolution in India's African defence strategy.
New Delhi is increasingly looking beyond traditional defence relationships and seeking to build partnerships based on capacity building, indigenous defence technology, industrial cooperation and long-term strategic engagement.
For Ethiopia, India offers an additional defence and technology partner at a time when African countries are increasingly diversifying their external security relationships.
The bigger shift is from defence assistance to defence partnership — with India increasingly seeking to build long-term security relationships in Africa alongside opportunities for its growing defence industry.
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