Introduction
The formal opening of the Ethiopian embassy in Islamabad is a milestone development in the bilateral cooperative relations of Islamabad and Addis Ababa because both governments have now decided to boost their interstate relations against the prevailing threats of contemporary world politics. In May 2023, the formal inauguration of the Embassy in Islamabad allowed the formal government representatives of both states to appreciate their vision of promoting economic, cultural and diplomatic bilateral ties. This participation of Ethiopian formal state authorities went on to praise Islamabad’s role in cooperating with Addis Ababa in fields of climate change, immigration, security and terrorism. This bilateral partnership and the increasing diplomatic services through the opening of the embassy communicated to Pakistan authorities the Ethiopian government’s vision for deepening multidimensional ties with Pakistan. Such ambitions for exploring the future avenues of cooperation are fundamentally inherited in a brief history of the Islamabad-Addis Ababa relation which started in the 1950s.
The diplomatic relations have laid the foundations of collaborative interaction in limited areas due to the geographical and cultural disconnect. The only factor providing confidence to Islamabad for exploring Ethiopian multidimensional trading potential is the common ideological grounds between Islamabad and Addis Ababa in which Ethiopia has strong relevance to Islamic history whereas Pakistan has a strong footing in the Muslim world. The common ideological foundations and the consensus of both governments on different ideological issues of the Muslim world proved a strong force in constructing and cementing Pakistan-Ethiopia bilateral relations.
Additionally, the absence of any critical points of disagreement between Islamabad and Addis Ababa are supporting points – the absence of any major disagreement between the two states have always encouraged the two nations to work for productive and positive developments in the world while appreciating each other’s regional and extra-regional standings.
The opening of the Ethiopian embassy is mainly inherited in the recent phase of Pakistan’s foreign policy under the “Engage Africa Initiative.” This initiative was launched by the government of Pakistan in 2019 with the objectives of exploring the untapped potential of African countries and strengthening bilateral relations with African nations. The core theme of this initiative was to develop strong people-to-people contact between Pakistan and African countries while emphasizing exclusively the construction of cultural linkages between Islamabad and African nations. The initial progress of the Engage Africa Initiative was secured by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan when they hosted a joint international conference in Islamabad in November 2019 and showed the will of the Pakistani government for engaging with African countries in the multidimensional areas. The objective of cultivating the high diplomatic and political values between Islamabad and African countries led Pakistan toward the African continent in which several African nations showed their determination for commencing multifaceted cooperative ties with Islamabad. In the list of African countries’ ambitions for developing cordial ties with Pakistan, Ethiopia emerged as one of the key players in accepting and appreciating Islamabad’s vision for exploring the African continent.
The significance of Ethiopia increased in Pakistan’s economic calculations in 2019 when the Ministry of Commerce introduced a trade-centric “Look Africa Initiative” and relocated six commercial sections from Europe to Africa while considering Ethiopia is one of the leading economies of the African continent. The main objective of Pakistan’s government for enhancing cooperation with African countries is the expansion of trade with the African leading economies, such as Addis Ababa for one. In the post-inaugural session of the Embassy in Islamabad, the government of Pakistan exclusively focused on improvement of bilateral ties between Pakistan and Ethiopia by creating the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP). Here, the Embassy of Pakistan in Addis Ababa played a significant role in promoting various business avenues between Pakistan and Ethiopia. For the improvement of direct trading mechanisms the state authorities of both states have also created a Pakistan-Ethiopia Business Forum. Recently launched, this business forum has successfully brought over 150 investment opportunities from across the world on a single platform, and the launching of a two-sided Business Forum laid the foundations of close Pakistan-Ethiopia trading relations. An important development is an interstate meeting between the leading state authorities from Islamabad and Addis Ababa; this meeting was the first interaction between the Pakistani and Ethiopian state authorities under the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing in April 2019.
Through these regular meetings the leaders of the two nations have realized and appreciated the under-construction development projects of each other such as Pakistan China Economic Corridor (CPEC), Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (LAPSSET), and Port Sudan-Ethiopia Railway Connectivity. These developmental projects have increased the geo-economic significance of both states in the respective regions which could boost their existing trading volumes with other states. These projects empower the economic muscles of both states and let their leaders benefit from each other’s economies in multiple ways.
While reclaiming the future plans of Pakistan and Ethiopia, it is pertinent to mention that leaders of both states have agreed on certain points such as the launching of direct flights between them to facilitate their respective societies with the belief that a direct flight will let the governments of Pakistan and Ethiopia to widen their existing trading interaction. The start of direct flights will also address, to a great extent, the travelling problems of the two business communities parallel to helping them understand the cultural values of each other. The cultural disconnect between Pakistani and Ethiopian nations are areas which are lacking the appropriate attention of the two-sided leaders. The formal representatives of both states are seeking to develop active coordination between Ethiopia and Pakistani societies with the belief that dynamic societal connections will increase the chances of Foreign Direct Investment in both countries. The government of Pakistan has also communicated to the Ethiopian authorities Islamabad’s determination for continuing its role in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (PKOs). This determination of Pakistan is rooted in Islamabad’s vision for contributing to and promoting the cause of peace and security in the African continent.
Based on these realities, it is appropriate to maintain that the leading decision-making circles of Pakistan and Ethiopia are also required to explore the untapped areas of their bilateral cooperation. The exploration of untapped trading potential in various unexplored areas will enable both governments to improve their existing critical economic conditions. Thus, the opening of the Embassy in Islamabad has been called by the governments of both states as the start of a new history where a high degree of political coordination will support the vision of two-sided economic development simultaneously. Now, the two governments are required to rationalize their formal statements with solid practical measures.
