By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan has visited Addis Ababa where he signed a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation with Ethiopia, Turkish Energy Ministry said in a statement, adding that the deal would lead to joint production and projects.
On the invitation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Erdogan embarked on a one-day visit to Ethiopia on Tuesday, his first to the African country in the past 11 years.
The energy deal was signed at a ceremony after talks between the two leaders.
Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said it would serve as a roadmap to deepen cooperation.
The ministry said in a note that under the agreement, the two countries would develop projects in renewable energy and energy efficiency, and would cooperate on the production and installation of hydroelectric power plant equipment and electric turbines.
Turkey has close ties with Ethiopia. In 2024 Ankara helped resolve a dispute between Ethiopia and Somalia on Addis Ababa’s plan to build a port in the breakaway region of Somaliland.
As it increases its influence in the region, Turkey sent its deep-sea drilling vessel Cagri Bey to Somalia on Sunday for what Bayraktar has said will be Ankara’s first offshore exploration mission outside its maritime zone.
