Agreements to be Signed on Erdoğan's Ethiopia Visit Tuesday

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s upcoming visit to Ethiopia signals a calibrated expansion of Türkiye’s Horn of Africa diplomacy, combining economic agreements, political signaling, and regional security messaging at a moment of heightened scrutiny over neighboring Sudan.

Erdoğan is scheduled to arrive in Addis Ababa on Tuesday at the invitation of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali. The Presidency’s Communications Director Burhanettin Duran announced the trip on Saturday, stating that several agreements that have “completed their negotiation phase” will be signed.

The visit forms part of Ankara’s broader diplomatic outreach spanning both Gulf and African partners.

Institutionalizing Bilateral Cooperation

According to Duran, the accord will formalize cooperation across multiple sectors, providing an institutional framework to ties that have steadily deepened over recent years. While specific sectors were not detailed, the emphasis on documents ready for signature underscores preparation rather than symbolic diplomacy.

The Presidency’s Directorate of Communications also announced on Feb. 11 that it will organize a panel titled “Türkiye-Ethiopia Relations: A Century of Diplomacy, Everlasting Friendship Panel” on Monday in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa under the motto “A Century of Diplomacy”.

Regional Security Overlay

The visit also unfolds against the backdrop of the war in neighboring Sudan amid allegations of Ethiopia’s involvement. Ankara has repeatedly described stability in Sudan as central to regional stability. Türkiye’s ambassador to the United States Sedat Önal recently said Sudan’s stability is “critically important” for the wider region and emphasized dialogue to end the conflict.

Accordingly, this week’s trip comes as a Reuters investigation alleged Ethiopia hosts a training site for fighters linked to the Rapid Support Forces near the border, seemingly placing the issue squarely within the diplomatic context of Erdoğan’s talks.

Balancing Multiple Theaters

The Ethiopia visit reflects what officials describe as Türkiye’s “multifaceted foreign policy approach,” balancing engagement in the Gulf and Africa simultaneously.

The tour had originally been expected to include Abu Dhabi for Monday, but the visit was postponed for a later date. Instead, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone call with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, where the leaders discussed cooperation, regional developments, and agreed to reschedule their meeting “at their earliest convenience.”

The president’s visit to Ethiopia is expected to address bilateral matters as well as regional security and international developments, placing Ankara within overlapping diplomatic theaters rather than a single regional track, in a region where diplomatic alignments remain fluid.