Ethiopia–Italy relations are the current and historical relations between

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

History

Modern Italian colonial ambitions into Ethiopia began in the 1880s. This was eventually followed by the Italo-Ethiopian War of 1887–1889, in which Italy occupied the Ethiopian territory in present-day Eritrea, founding the colony of

Italian Eritrea Italian Eritrea (, "Colony of Eritrea") was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Società di Navigazione Rubattino, Rubattino Shippin ...

. Years later, the disputed

Treaty of Wuchale The Treaty of Wuchale (also spelled Treaty of Ucciale; , ) was a treaty signed between the Ethiopian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy. The signing parties were King Menelik II of Shewa, acting as Emperor of Ethiopia, and Count representing Ita ...

led to the

First Italo-Ethiopian War The First Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the First Italo-Abyssinian War, or simply known as the Abyssinian War in Italy (), was a military confrontation fought between Kingdom of Italy, Italy and Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia from 1895 to ...

between 1894 and 1896, where the Ethiopians (supported by Russia and France) successfully fought off European expansion. The peace of Addis Ababa after the defeat of the Italian troops in Adua in 1896, was the beginning of the Ethiopian independence. The Ethiopian territory included the territory conquered by

Menelik II Menelik II ( ; horse name Aba Dagnew (Amharic: አባ ዳኘው ''abba daññäw''); 17 August 1844 – 12 December 1913), baptised as Sahle Maryam (ሣህለ ማርያም ''sahlä maryam'') was king of Shewa from 1866 to 1889 and Emperor of Et ...

and the borders were agreed with the major regional powers:

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Moreover, a series of Treaties regulated the relations with Italy, which established the borders between

and

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

as well as

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

. However, some territories belonged to

for an ethnic reason, so the fact that

had occupied and incorporated them caused tensions in the regional relations. The emperor

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...

, who was the crown prince since 1916 and succeeded to the throne in 1930, strengthened the international legitimisation of Ethiopia, by implementing an open-door policy, which was established with the entry in the League of the Nations of Ethiopia in 1923. Following

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the rise of

Italian Fascism Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

, the

Abyssinia Crisis The Abyssinia Crisis, also known in Italy as the Walwal incident, was an international crisis in 1935 that originated in a dispute over the town of Walwal, which then turned into a conflict between Fascist Italy and the Ethiopian Empire (then co ...

began, and eventually culminated in the 1935–1936

Second Italo-Ethiopian War The Second Italo-Ethiopian War, also referred to as the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, was a war of aggression waged by Fascist Italy, Italy against Ethiopian Empire, Ethiopia, which lasted from October 1935 to February 1937. In Ethiopia it is oft ...

was invaded in 1935 by the Italian troops, who reached

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

on 5 May 1936. It was a brutal conflict: the Ethiopians used prohibited

Dum-dum Expanding bullets, also known colloquially as dumdum bullets, are projectiles designed to expand on terminal ballistics, impact. This causes the bullet to increase in diameter, to combat over-penetration and produce a larger wound, thus dealing ...

bullets and began mutilating captured soldiers (often with castration) since the first weeks of war, while the Italians used chemical warfare. Ethiopia lost its independence and became

Italian Ethiopia Italian East Africa (, A.O.I.) was a short-lived colonial possession of Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in the Horn of Africa. It was established following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to the military occupation of the Ethiopian Em ...

, part of

Italian East Africa Italian East Africa (, A.O.I.) was a short-lived colonial possession of Fascist Italy from 1936 to 1941 in the Horn of Africa. It was established following the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, which led to the military occupation of the Ethiopian ...

. During the period of the Italian occupation,

was divided into six regions:

which expanded in part of

Tigray Region The Tigray Region (or simply Tigray; officially the Tigray National Regional State) is the northernmost Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in Ethiopia. The Tigray Region is the homeland of the Tigrayan, Irob people, Irob and Kunama people. I ...

Amhara Region The Amhara Region (), officially the Amhara National Regional State (), is a Regions of Ethiopia, regional state in northern Ethiopia and the homeland of the Amhara people, Amhara, Awi people, Awi, Xamir people, Xamir, Argobba people, Argobba, a ...

(

Begemder Begemder (; also known as Gondar or Gonder) was a province in northwest Ethiopia. The alternative names come from its capital during the 20th century, Gondar. Etymology A plausible source for the name ''Bega'' is that the word means "dry" in t ...

, Wallo,

Gojjam Gojjam ( ''gōjjām'', originally ጐዛም ''gʷazzam'', later ጐዣም ''gʷažžām'', ጎዣም ''gōžžām'') is a historical provincial kingdom in northwestern Ethiopia, with its capital city at Debre Markos. During the 18th century, G ...

and northern Scioa), Galla-Sidamo,

Harar Harar (; Harari language, Harari: ሀረር / ; ; ; ), known historically by the indigenous as Harar-Gey or simply Gey (Harari: ጌይ, ݘٛىيْ, ''Gēy'', ), is a List of cities with defensive walls, walled city in eastern Ethiopia. It is al ...

and

, which included the

Ogaden region Ogaden (pronounced and often spelled ''Ogadēn''; , ) is one of the historical names used for the modern Somali Region. It is also natively referred to as Soomaali Galbeed (). The region forms the eastern portion of Ethiopia and borders Somalia ...

. The territorial breakdown was aimed at reducing and controlling the hegemonic power of

Amhara people Amharas (; ) are a Ethiopian Semitic languages, Semitic-speaking ethnic group indigenous to Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa, traditionally inhabiting parts of the northwest Ethiopian Highlands, Highlands of Ethiopia, particularly the Amhara Reg ...

, by using the autonomist tendencies of the other regions. The Italian occupation was characterised by investments in infrastructures aimed to establish a future agricultural and entrepreneurial colonisation. Second Italo-Ethiopian War bombing with mustard gas

Second Italo-Ethiopian War bombing with mustard gas

Italy eventually lost its colonies in the region. Following years of local resistance and the intervention of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

troops during the East African Campaign of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, scattered Italian forces continued to fight in a

guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...

, until the final surrender in 1943. Ethiopia regained its independence from Italy in 1947. After independence, many Italian settlers remained for decades after receiving full pardon by Emperor Selassie. However, due to the

Ethiopian Civil War The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991. The Derg overthre ...

in 1974, nearly 22,000 Italo-Ethiopians left the country.

Education

Ethiopia has the largest concentration of Italian schools and cultural institutes in Africa (such as the Scuola Statale Italiana of Addis Abeba), which foster and promote Italian and Ethiopian culture and are free to the public.

Economy

The Italian firm Salini Costruttori was chosen by the Ethiopian government to design and build the Millennium or

Renaissance Dam The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD or TaIHiGe; , , ), formerly known as the Millennium Dam and sometimes referred to as the Hidase Dam (, ), is a gravity dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia. The dam is in the Benishangul-Gumuz Region ...

on the

Blue Nile river The Blue Nile is a river originating at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. It travels for approximately through Ethiopia and Sudan. Along with the White Nile, it is one of the two major tributaries of the Nile and supplies about 85.6% of the water to the ...

, which when completed will be the largest dam and hydroelectric plant in Africa. As the Italian engineers had helped to build the first railway from Addis to Djibouti in the past, the Ethiopian government has contracted them again to expand the railroad network along with India and China. For the last 20 years, Italy has continued to be among the top 5 trading partners with Ethiopia and a major investor in the Ethiopian economy.

Cooperation

The relations between Ethiopia and Italy in the field of political, security and economic cooperation have been good in recent years. In 2015, the at the time

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Paolo Gentiloni Paolo Gentiloni Silveri (; born 22 November 1954) is an Italian politician who was European Commissioner for Economy in the von der Leyen Commission from 1 December 2019 to 30 November 2024. He had previously served as prime minister of Italy ...

and

Prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

visited

on a state visit. This was proceeded by another visit in 2016 by the

President of the Republic The President of the Republic is a title used for heads of state and/or heads of government in countries having republican form of government. Designation In most cases the president of a republic is elected, either: * by direct universal s ...

Sergio Mattarella Sergio Mattarella (; born 23 July 1941) is an Italian politician and jurist who has served as the president of Italy since 2015. He is the longest-serving president in the history of the Italian Republic. Since Giorgio Napolitano's death in 20 ...

has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of Italian initiatives in Africa. Currently,

ranks among

's top trade partners, eighth supplier at global level, first at

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

level (in the first months of 2018), in fact many Italian companies are involved in the current work of modernisation of

, while as far as Italian Export is concerned,

ranks fourth as destination market in

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

. On 10 April 2019, an important agreement between the Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, focused on

cooperation Cooperation (written as co-operation in British English and, with a varied usage along time, coöperation) takes place when a group of organisms works or acts together for a collective benefit to the group as opposed to working in competition ...

in the defence sector, was concluded in

, entitled:
Ratification and implementation of the Agreement between the Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on cooperation in the field of defence, done at Addis Ababa on 10 april 2019
. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on cooperation in the field of defence, done at Addis Ababa on 10 April 2019" on Government initiative (in Italian language "Accordo tra il Governo della Repubblica italiana e il Governo della Repubblica democratica federale di Etiopia sulla cooperazione nel settore della difesa").

Content of the Agreement

The

ratification Ratification is a principal's legal confirmation of an act of its agent. In international law, ratification is the process by which a state declares its consent to be bound to a treaty. In the case of bilateral treaties, ratification is usuall ...

of the agreement initialled in 2019 between the Government of the Republic of Italy and the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia on cooperation in the field of defence consists of four articles, the first two authorising ratification and ordering the Agreement. Article 3 deals with the coverage of charges attributable to the provisions of Article 4 which is dedicated to the modalities of cooperation, which provided: * exchange of visits and experience * reciprocal participation in courses, conferences, studies, apprenticeships, training as well as * symposia organised by military education and training institutions; * promotion of knowledge and skills, in accordance with national and international law, related to defence * law, related to defence issues; * peace support operations; * promotion of military health services, including medical research; * support to commercial initiatives, relating to defence products and services related to defence * defence issues; * other areas of common interest to the Parties.

References

External links

Ethiopia- Italy relations
FDRE (Ethiopian) Ministry of Foreign Affairs {{DEFAULTSORT:Ethiopia-Italy Relations

Bilateral relations of Italy Relations of colonizer and former colony