Relationship dossier
Turkey
Ethiopia
Relationship assessment
Turkey and Ethiopia maintain a cooperative relationship centered on trade, investment, development, and defense ties.
Turkey toward Ethiopia
+35Turkey has engaged Ethiopia through development activity, trade and investment cooperation, and defense ties. Turkish companies have invested in Ethiopia, and Turkey has maintained high-level diplomatic engagement with the Ethiopian government.
Ethiopia toward Turkey
+35Ethiopia has pursued bilateral economic and defense cooperation with Turkey, including through agreements and high-level government engagement. Ethiopian authorities have also engaged Turkey as a diplomatic partner in regional affairs.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship rests on sustained diplomatic engagement and practical cooperation in economic, development, and defense areas. These ties support a cooperative assessment, while uncertainty about the reach and implementation of particular agreements limits confidence in their depth.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Turkey and Ethiopia have developed practical cooperation through high-level engagement, trade and investment ties, development activity, and defense cooperation. Turkey has also played a diplomatic role in regional affairs involving Ethiopia. The relationship appears substantially cooperative, although the scope and implementation of individual agreements are not fully clear.
Key developments
Turkey and Ethiopia signed a defense cooperation agreement during President Erdoğan's visit to Ethiopia.
Turkey facilitated talks between Ethiopia and Somalia amid tensions over Ethiopia's access to the sea.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of bilateral defense and economic agreements are unclear.
- The scale and continuity of Turkish development assistance and investment in Ethiopia are uncertain.