Addis Ababa [Ethiopia], October 9 (ANI): External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Thursday (local time) arrived in Ethiopia as part of his three-nation tour of African countries, expressing hope for productive engagements to advance India's strategic partnership with the East African nation.

"Hello Addis Ababa! Delighted to arrive in Ethiopia. Thank State Minister @BerhanuTsegaye for the warm reception. Look forward to productive engagements to advance our Strategic Partnership," Jaishankar said in a post on X.

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/2108330033047834894

Ethiopia is the third and final leg of Jaishankar's three-nation African tour, which also included visits to Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire.

During his visit to Cote d'Ivoire, Jaishankar highlighted India's developmental engagement with African countries, emphasising that New Delhi's approach has been guided by the needs and priorities of its African partners.

Addressing alumni of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme in Cote d'Ivoire, Jaishankar said India's development partnership with Africa has remained central to its engagement with the continent.

"Where Africa is concerned, development partnership has always been central to our engagement, and we have taken a view that what we do in India should respond to the demands and priorities of our African partners," he said.

He also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's articulation of the Kampala principles of India's engagement with Africa.

Jaishankar said ITEC serves as a platform for sharing India's developmental, security and governance experiences, along with best practices, technology and expertise.

"ITEC is very important because it is a vehicle to share our developmental experiences, our security experiences, our governance experiences, best practices, to also discuss technology and expertise together," he said.

He added that the programme also enabled India to learn from participants from partner countries, noting that their presence benefited the institutions where they received training.

The External Affairs Minister said ITEC, which began in 1964, marked its 62nd anniversary this year. The programme covers more than 160 partner nations and provides nearly 10,000 fully funded training opportunities annually across various fields.

Jaishankar said the programme covered areas ranging from information and communication technology, digital governance and public administration to agriculture, energy, skill development, defence, security and counterterrorism.

During his engagements in Cote d'Ivoire, Jaishankar also met Vice Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tene Birahima Ouattara to discuss the growing defence partnership between the two countries.

He held discussions with Cote d'Ivoire's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Niale Kaba in Abidjan, focusing on strengthening bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare and people-to-people ties.

Jaishankar said Cote d'Ivoire was one of India's key partners in West Africa and reiterated New Delhi's support for the country's economic growth, governance transformation, and security and defence objectives.

He highlighted the role of capacity-building initiatives in strengthening long-term ties between the two countries, noting that around 800 ITEC training slots had been utilised by Cote d'Ivoire over the preceding 12 years.

The minister said human connections and shared experiences built through such programmes were important to sustaining bilateral relations. (ANI)