🎙 Opening remarks by President of Russia Vladimir Putin at a meeting with Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed on the sidelines of the Third Russia–Africa Summit (Moscow, October 28, 2026) 💬 Vladimir Putin: Once again, congratulations on your election as Prime Minister. Ethiopia actively participated in the Russia–Africa Summits in Sochi in 2019 and St Petersburg in 2023. Our talks today are taking place during your visit to attend what is now the Third Russia–Africa Summit. I would like to thank you for finding the opportunity to come to Moscow once again. 🤝 I value the friendly relations between Russia and Ethiopia, as well as our personal contacts, which are always substantive and constructive. And, of course, I recall our recent talks at the #BRICS Summit in New Delhi in September, when we compared notes on the key areas of bilateral cooperation. 📈 I would like to highlight the substantial growth in bilateral trade, which exceeded $1.3 billion in January-September this year. This is more than double the figure for the whole of 2025. We have many promising large-scale projects across a wide range of areas, from energy, agriculture and industrial cooperation to the peaceful exploration of outer space, science, healthcare and education. Russia and Ethiopia stand together in international affairs. We maintain dialogue at the #UN, within #BRICS and in other multilateral forums. We know that Addis Ababa is scheduled to host the UN Climate Change Conference in 2027. We wish you every success in hosting this major international forum. Russia fully supports Africa’s emergence as one of the key centres of the new #MultipolarWorld order. We will pay particular attention to expanding trade and economic cooperation with African countries, ensuring food and energy security, and developing healthcare. At the conclusion of the Summit, we will adopt its Declaration and a new Action Plan of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum for 2027–2029. 🇷🇺🇪🇹 We now have a good opportunity to continue discussing the main tasks for further strengthening the multifaceted ties between Russia and Ethiopia, as well as current international and regional issues. We have already begun exchanging views on some of these in our one-on-one conversation. #RussiaEthiopia