New Delhi [India], September 12 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed Ali at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on Saturday, on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit. Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and UAE became full member of BRICS from January 2024 and Indonesia in January 2025.

By joining BRICS, Ethiopia has gained access to the markets of the member countries, which should increase its export opportunities. The African state is ready to supply coffee, flowers and other agricultural products. Some companies in India and China have also expressed interest in investing in Ethiopia's telecoms technology and infrastructure. This, according to some experts, could help it diversify its economy.

Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed Ali arrived in Delhi to attend the Summit. Ethiopia is one of the 11 member countries of BRICS.

The Ethiopian PM was received by the Minister of State for Defence, Sanjay Seth. Right after deplaning, along with his staff, the Ethiopian PM was welcomed by armed forces personnel. 

Alongwith the Ethiopian PM, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Gedion Timothewos, is also attending the summit and arrived in the national capital on Thursday. 

The bilateral meeting between the two leaders comes as India is hosting the 18th BRICS Summit under its 2026 Chairship on September 12-13. India's Chairship is guided by the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability", with development, sustainability and innovation forming key areas of focus.

BRICS has emerged as an important platform for coordination among major emerging economies and for advancing the interests of the Global South in multilateral institutions. Its agenda covers development, finance, technology, trade and people-to-people exchanges.

The grouping currently comprises 11 countries -- Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the UAE. Alongwith 10 partner countries--Nigeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. 

According to background information on India's 2026 Chairship, BRICS members collectively account for around 49.5 per cent of the global population, 40 per cent of global GDP and 26 per cent of global trade.

India's BRICS Chairship comes amid global economic fragmentation, technological disruption, geopolitical uncertainty, climate change and resource pressures. For India, the 2026 Chairship is focused on translating the expanded representation of BRICS into meaningful cooperation and tangible outcomes, while building consensus among its diverse members and strengthening the effectiveness of existing mechanisms.

Earlier in September, India and Ethiopia held a meeting to explore avenues for expanding bilateral defence collaboration, with discussions focusing on military training, joint defence manufacturing, and UN Peacekeeping operations.

The diplomatic engagement took place in New Delhi between Nebiyu Tedla, Charge d'Affaires at the Ethiopian Embassy, and Amitabh Prasad, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Defence.

Highlighting the scope of the talks, the Ministry of Defence posted on X, 'They discussed avenues to further strengthen India-Ethiopia defence cooperation, including training, defence industry collaboration and UN Peacekeeping, with focus on new and emerging areas.'

Diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Addis Ababa have witnessed robust high-level exchanges. (ANI)