Singapore to open embassy in Addis Ababa, as ties with Ethiopia grow

ADDIS ABABA - Singapore will establish an embassy in the Ethiopian capital city of Addis Ababa, as both countries cooperate to connect their respective regions.

Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced this on Nov 24, during his first bilateral visit to the African continent.

“As hubs in our respective parts of the world, Singapore and Ethiopia can catalyse more trade and investment flows between South-east Asia and Africa,” he said at a joint press conference with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali at the National Palace.

The Ethiopian mission will be Singapore’s first embassy in East Africa and its third on the continent, alongside those in Egypt and South Africa. The Republic also has honorary consulates in Morocco and Nigeria.

The new embassy, which will be set up by 2027, is a tangible demonstration of Singapore’s commitment to its partnership with Ethiopia and its belief in Ethiopia’s strategic importance and potential, said PM Wong.

It will also let Singapore strengthen ties with Africa as a whole, with the African Union headquartered in Addis Ababa. The union, which has 55 members, represents all the countries on the African continent.

PM Wong and Dr Abiy also witnessed the signing of two agreements to strengthen bilateral cooperation in skills development and carbon credits.

Under the first agreement, the Republic will launch a new technical assistance package to offer postgraduate scholarships and executive education programmes for senior African officials in Singapore universities.

So far, more than 13,000 African officials, including 300 from Ethiopia, have studied in Singapore under initiatives such as the Singapore Cooperation Programme and the Singapore-Africa Partnership Package.

“Through this initiative, Singapore aims to make a small but meaningful contribution to sustainable growth in Africa, said PM Wong, who will hold a fireside chat with Ethiopian civil servants during his trip.

The second agreement will see both countries explore cooperation in carbon markets. This includes the exchange of best practices and knowledge on carbon market mechanisms, as well as future collaboration on initiatives to support the development of high-integrity carbon markets.

The agreement is timely as Ethiopia prepares to host the COP32 meeting in 2027 - an endeavor which PM Wong said Singapore fully supports.

PM Wong noted that Dr Abiy’s official visit to Singapore in June 2024 on the occasion of 55 years of diplomatic ties had injected positive momentum into the relationship, and that both countries are continuing that positive trajectory.

“Prime Minister Abiy and I agreed that there is still much more that EthiopiaBut and Singapore can do together,” he said. “There is clear potential to grow our bilateral cooperation.”

Dr Abiy thanked PM Wong for keeping his promise to visit.

He said it was the right time for every developed nation to “turn their face to Africa”, which has much potential and also much to offer in terms of human capital, land, and opportunities for clean energy, among other things.

“So from this perspective, your decision to come and to visit Ethiopia after six decades, it means a lot, and it’s a good decision. It’s a right decision I’m sure you will not regret, because Ethiopia will offer a lot to strengthen our bilateral relationship,” he said adding that Singapore’s remarkable journey and good governance offers many lessons.

To this, PM Wong said Singapore sees Ethiopia as an ancient civilization with a long and proud history of diverse people and tremendous potential to do much more.

“So this is not about us teaching Ethiopia at all or offering lessons. It’s a partnership of equals. It’s a partnership of us working together closely for Win Win partnership,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the two leaders had held a “four-eye” meeting before the Singaporean delegation sat down with their Ethiopian counterparts.

In the heart of Addis Ababa, the visit was announced on LED billboards on buildings and lampposts, flashing the flags of both countries and also portraits or both prime ministers.

Dr Abiy received PM Wong at the airport on Nov 22 and gave him an official welcome the next day, where the national anthems of both countries were played before PM Wong inspected the honour guards.

The opening of new overseas missions by Singapore is rare. An embassy is a country’s main diplomatic mission and typically located in the capital, while a consulate is a regional office.

While these offices are staffed by career diplomats, an honorary consulate is a part-time, unpaid office run by an appointed private citizen.

Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa after Nigeria, and one of the fastest growing economies in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The embassy in Addis Ababa is the first to be established since PM Wong announced in April that Singapore will be opening new diplomatic missions in Africa and Latin America over the next few years.

At the S. Rajaratnam Lecture on April 16, he said both regions were brimming with potential, but that the city-state had not fully engaged due to distance or unfamiliarity.

Besides strengthening its global network of partnerships, PM Wong said then that Singapore will also contribute actively to the stewardship of the global commons and champion deeper regional integration to navigate an increasingly fragmented and turbulent world.

Accompanying PM Wong on the trip is Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang, and Minister of State for Digital Development and Information and Health Rahayu Mahzam.