Ethiopia, India sign trade, communication agreements

India and Ethiopia on Thursday signed agreements for cooperation in trade and communication sectors.

The agreements were signed after a closed door meeting between the Indian President Shri Ram Nath Kovind and his Ethiopian counterpart Mulatu Teshome at the National Palace in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

In a short press briefing, the Indian president said he wanted to strengthen bilateral ties with Ethiopia.

"We will be working closely to develop trade, investment and people-to-people relations between the two countries," Kovind said.

He added that India will provide a credit line to the tune of $95 million to Ethiopia for an electric transmission line. He also announced $2 million for purchase of food grain.

Teshome said the discussion highlighted "…the great importance Ethiopia is attaching to the multifaceted relations between the two countries".

This is the first time in 40 years that an Indian presidential delegation has visited Ethiopia.

Kovind arrived in Addis Ababa on Wednesday after a visit to the tiny horn of Africa country, Djibouti.

The two countries currently engage in nearly $1billion in bilateral trade, while foreign direct investment from India reached $5 billion, according to official documents.