The relationship between Ethiopia and Israel stretches back thousands of years – to the days of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba – rooted in biblical tradition and strengthened over decades through diplomacy, migration, trade, and cultural exchange.

Today, that relationship is increasingly being shaped by technology, investment, tourism, and innovation.

Speaking with The Jerusalem Post this week, Ethiopian Ambassador Tesfaye Yitayeh described a relationship that continues to deepen despite regional instability, war, and economic disruption across the Middle East.

“The bilateral relationship between our two countries is very good,” Yitayeh told the Post. “I’m very much happy to be part of this process, and we work hard again to further strengthen this very good bilateral relationship for the benefit of our two peoples.”

Modern relations between the two countries were formalized in 1956 with the establishment of embassies in Addis Ababa and Jerusalem. Early collaborations included Israeli assistance in military training and capacity-building in Ethiopia. These foundations laid the groundwork for the diverse partnership that is visible today.

In recent years, Ethiopia has sought to position itself as one of Africa’s major emerging investment destinations, with Israeli companies increasingly active in agriculture, technology, manufacturing, and infrastructure projects.

According to Yitayeh, one of the major developments over the past year was an official visit by President Isaac Herzog, as well as an investment forum held in Addis Ababa during Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s visit to Ethiopia last May.

“Along with [Sa’ar], there were businesspeople, and the investment opportunities were presented to them by different Ethiopian government officials,” the ambassador explained. “They also had visits to show the opportunities on the ground for Israeli companies and investors.”

Israeli involvement in Ethiopia remains especially strong in agriculture, including horticulture, irrigation technologies, agro-processing, and coffee production.

“Israelis are engaged in agriculture, especially high-value crops,” Yitayeh said. “Their best technologies, drip irrigation technologies, are being disseminated.”

He added that Israeli companies are also increasingly interested in Ethiopia’s digital economy, logistics sector, and infrastructure development projects, including a new major airport currently under construction southeast of Addis Ababa.

“The Israelis are very much interested in the cybersecurity and digital aspect of this ultramodern and big airport,” he said.

Agriculture and water management continue to stand at the center of Ethiopia’s interest in Israeli expertise.

“You know, Israelis are good at using a scarce resource, that is water,” Yitayeh said. “Efficiently, effectively using water in terms of water management.”

Though Ethiopia possesses far greater natural water resources than Israel, the ambassador said the country still has much to learn regarding efficiency, recycling, irrigation, and year-round agricultural production.

“In the rainy season, there is plenty of water. In the dry season, there is a shortage,” he explained. “We need to produce agricultural products throughout the year. The missing element is water.”

Israel’s MASHAV international development agency has played a significant role in helping Ethiopian agricultural development, particularly in avocado cultivation.

“MASHAV has already trained a number of our agronomists and horticulturists,” Yitayeh said. “It played a very pivotal role in avocado development and cultivation. Now Ethiopia is able to export avocados to the European market.”

Beyond agriculture, Ethiopia is increasingly looking toward Israel’s technology sector as a model for its own ambitions in artificial intelligence and innovation.

“Israel calls itself a Start-Up Nation, and Ethiopia is also trying its own version of a start-up,” Yitayeh said. “But it is in the infant stage.”

The ambassador revealed that Ethiopia has already established a national artificial intelligence center and is planning to open an AI-focused university in the coming years.

“The government already gave due attention to artificial intelligence,” he said. “There is an artificial intelligence center which was established three or four years ago.

“I hope, by next year or the year after, we will establish an artificial intelligence university so that our youngsters will get training,” he continued. “Hopefully, after five or six years, we will be able to work using AI in different economic sectors.”

Yitayeh added that Ethiopia hopes to work closely with Israel in the field.

“Israel is much advanced in using artificial intelligence,” he said. “So Ethiopia again will learn a lot in this regard as well.”

Energy is another sector rapidly changing Ethiopia’s economic landscape.

When the Post last spoke to Yitayeh, in January 2025, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam had not yet officially opened. Since then, Ethiopia formally inaugurated the massive hydroelectric project on the Blue Nile, which the ambassador said is already transforming the country’s energy capacity and attracting foreign investment.

“The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam alone adds more than 5,000 megawatts of electricity annually,” he told the Post. “One of the comparative advantages that Ethiopia has is its cheap energy supply.”

The ambassador said the dam is already helping attract foreign manufacturers and investors to Ethiopia’s industrial parks.

“We are seeing many companies from the Far East or elsewhere in the world coming and installing their production sites in Ethiopia,” he said.

Ethiopia has also begun exporting electricity to neighboring countries, including Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, and Djibouti, with future supply plans extending to South Sudan and Somalia.

“Ethiopia is in a position to be the electric powerhouse in the Horn of Africa or East Africa,” Yitayeh told the Post.

At the same time, the ambassador acknowledged that the regional wars involving Israel and Iran have had a significant economic impact on Ethiopia.

“The war has always played a very negative role in economic development and attracting investment,” he said.

He specifically pointed to rising global oil prices and fertilizer shortages caused by the disruption in the region.

“The price of fuel is skyrocketing,” he said. “It affected not only the investment flow, but the normal day-to-day life of the people.”

Yitayeh noted that Ethiopia Airlines was forced to suspend flights to Israel for more than a month after Israeli airspace closures during the war with Iran, before quickly resuming service once flights were permitted again.

Tourism, however, remains one of the ambassador’s biggest priorities.

“The unique nature of Ethiopia-Israel tourism is that it is a two-bound one,” he explained.

On one side are Ethiopian Christian pilgrims visiting Israel’s holy sites, including Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, and the Jordan River. On the other are Israeli Ethiopians traveling back to visit their ancestral homeland.

“So many people are going to Ethiopia and visiting the places where their ancestors were farming, were praying, where the graveyards are,” he said.

Yitayeh believes tourism between the two countries still has enormous untapped potential.

“The number of Israelis visiting Ethiopia is small,” he said. “We need to increase the number of Israelis who are visiting, taking into account the historic relationships and ties between our two countries.”

He pointed to Ethiopia’s growing tourism infrastructure, including new resorts and improved travel facilities developed over the past several years.

“There are a lot of tourist destination sites in Ethiopia,” he said. “Historic, cultural, ethnic, natural.”

The ambassador also revealed that discussions have begun internally regarding the possibility of a future visa waiver agreement between Israel and Ethiopia.

“A visa waiver is very important,” Yitayeh said, “so people can move easily. Visas should not be a barrier to travel either to Ethiopia or Israel.”

The Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel continues to serve as a bridge between the two nations, with many members maintaining strong emotional, cultural, and family ties to Ethiopia. Israelis of Ethiopian origin are entitled to a special visa waiver known as an Ethiopian Origin ID, which allows them to stay in the country beyond the usual three-month period allowed under the tourist visa.

According the ambassador, Ethiopians have a very positive view of the Jewish state across the Red Sea, with many Ethiopians admiring Israel’s resilience and technological achievements.

“People are very much interested in the way Israel changed this country as a whole,” he said. “They are very appreciative of the technological level and the resilience of Israeli society.”

He added that many Ethiopians are fascinated by Israel’s achievements in desalination, recycling, agriculture, and innovation.

“They wanted to come and see this development,” he said. “They wanted to prove whether it is true or not.”

Another growing area of cooperation between the two countries is academia.

The ambassador revealed that several Israeli and Ethiopian universities are now developing partnerships involving joint research, scholarships, and academic exchanges.

Among them are collaborations between Holon Institute of Technology and the Ethiopian Science and Technology University, as well as Ben-Gurion University and Addis Ababa University.

“They identified about eight areas of cooperation and collaboration,” Yitayeh said. “There will be joint research, academic exchange, and scholarship programs.

“We are doing that, and it is going in the right direction,” he added. “But we have to work hard to do more.”