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Attending the meeting on the Russian side were Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, Special Presidential Representative for Financial and Economic Cooperation with BRICS States and Interaction with the New Development Bank Maxim Oreshkin, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office – Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, Minister of Industry and Trade Anton Alikhanov, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev, Director of the Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugayev, Head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Consumer Protection and Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) Anna Popova, and Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexei Likhachev.

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Beginning of Russian-Ethiopian talks

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Prime Minister, I am delighted to see you again.

Ethiopia’s accession to BRICS is a momentous decision and yet further proof of your country’s prestige on the international stage. We will continue to assist Ethiopia’s seamless integration into the operations of our group.

Last year, we marked the 125^th anniversary of our diplomatic relations, which are based on a rich history and longstanding traditions of friendship, mutual respect, and cultural and spiritual affinity between our nations.

Over the past year, we have stepped up our political dialogue and developed regular contacts between our ministries and agencies. Our countries often hold very similar views on the majority of global and regional issues. We appreciate Ethiopia’s support for the majority of Russian initiatives at the UN.

Russia is giving special attention to the development of ties with African countries. We are implementing the agreements reached at the second Russia–Africa Summit in St Petersburg, and we look forward to seeing the new Foreign Minister of Ethiopia at the first ministerial conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum in Sochi this November.

Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko is ready to visit Addis Ababa in the next few months.

Our bilateral trade is growing. It may be modest in absolute terms, but there is positive dynamics with a 65 percent growth in 2023. If we continue in the same vein, we will achieve substantial results, considering that the current figures are far from the optimal mark.

We would like to strengthen interaction in healthcare and research. Rospotrebnadzor is ready to donate a mobile laboratory to Ethiopia, just as we do in relations with our partners when we provide equipment and train their personnel. We are also providing assistance to our African partners through international organisations.

We pay special attention to cultural and humanitarian cooperation. Since the 1960s, over 20,000 Ethiopians have received a higher education in Russia. About 200 Ethiopians are currently studying in Russia. Days of Russia's Spiritual Culture were held in Addis Ababa in September.

Mr Prime Minister, our meeting today offers an opportunity to hold an in-depth discussion on these and other current issues of our cooperation.

Thank you.

Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed: Mr President, at the outset I would like to thank you for the warm welcome and generous hospitality accorded to me and my delegation.

Congratulations on such a well-planned and extremely perfectly delivered summit. We are extremely happy in every second that we have spent in this beautiful city. Our meeting was very efficient, and I would like to congratulate you on such high-level delivery.

Allow me to congratulate you on maintaining economic resilience during a difficult period. This period was not easy for Russia, but under your leadership you have succeeded to maintain the economic resilience which might be exemplary for most of us.

Mr President, it is a good time for most of us to come and to witness how Russia is doing on many fronts, including the economy. In our exchanges, there are areas that we can clearly see that if we work hard and continuously engage, we can increase our economic ties, diplomatic ties, and also security ties.

Thank you very much. I hope in our discussion we will go into details of some issues.

Thank you.