Addis Ababa, November 24, 2020 (FBC) -President of Ethiopia Sahle-Work Zewde and Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the commencement of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
President Sahle-Work said the past 50 years witnessed the deepening of the bilateral ties and the fruitful cooperation between Ethiopia and China based on close consultation and mutual political trust.
She also applauded that the relationship has been elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership paving the way to further strengthen the ties and exchange the cooperation across a wide range of fields for the mutual benefit of the two countries and peoples.
President Sahle-Work concluded her message affirming to look forward to work closely with President Xi Jinping to further cultivate the traditional ties between Ethiopia and China.
President Xi Jinping, on his part, said over the past half-century, China-Ethiopia friendship has withstood the test of time and grown even stronger.
The Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership established recently between the two countries has been evidenced by deepening mutual political trust, fruitful multifaceted cooperation, mutual understanding and support on issues bearing on each other’s core interests and major concerns, as well as close cooperation on international and regional issues, he said.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19, China and Ethiopia have been committed to solidarity and mutual assistance, setting an exemplary role for the anti-pandemic cooperation between China and Africa, President Xi Jinping added.
“I have always attached great importance to the development of China-Ethiopia relations,” he said and vowed “to further implement the outcomes of the Beijing summit of the Forum on China-Africa summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19 and strengthen the Belt and Road cooperation.
China and Ethiopia officially established diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level on November 24th, 1970, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.