2025 marks the 120^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Germany and Ethiopia. Bilateral relations have traditionally been good and are maintained through reciprocal high-level visits. The visit by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1954 was the first by a foreign Head of State to the Federal Republic of Germany. Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Ethiopia in May 2023, and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali’s most recent visit to Berlin was in November 2023.

Since the end of the Tigray Conflict in northern Ethiopia in late 2022, Germany has been working both bilaterally and in the EU to intensify relations with Ethiopia. Germany is supporting the country’s implementation of the peace process and its efforts to stabilise the regions affected by the conflict. Moreover, Germany is helping to mediate in domestic political conflicts and is involved in efforts to combat food crises and acute humanitarian emergencies, as one of Ethiopia’s largest current donors of humanitarian assistance.

Ethiopia is an important partner for German development cooperation, with a focus on supporting vocational training, developing the private sector and promoting good governance, social security, food security and agriculture. The two countries’ cooperation on human rights and democracy-building is contributing to peaceful development in Ethiopia.

Ethiopia joined the Compact with Africa during Germany’s G20 Presidency in 2017. Germany is one of the most important buyers of Ethiopian goods, primarily coffee and textiles. The main German exports to Ethiopia are finished products such as machinery, engines and motor vehicles, as well as chemicals and medicines. That said, there has not been much German private-sector investment in the country so far.

German-Ethiopian cultural relations consist of numerous higher education partnerships and work by the Goethe-Institut, the German Academic Exchange Service, the German Embassy School in Addis Ababa and the German Archaeological Institute.