Ethio-Poland Relations
·
The establishment of diplomatic relations between Ethiopia
and Poland dates back to 1947. Consequently, their level of diplomatic contact
was elevated to an Embassy status in 1965 with the opening of the Polish
Embassy in Addis Ababa. The Polish Embassy in Addis Ababa was closed in 1992
when the country was in a political turmoil following the end of the cold war.
The Embassy then has been reopened in 2002.
·
Ethiopian Embassy in Berlin is
covering Poland since June 18, 2003.
·
The first Honorary Consul of
Ethiopia to Poland was appointed on April 4, 2009, with its office in Gdansk
City, Poland.
Bilateral Visit
From the Poland side:-
·
Polish President Andrzej Duda visited Ethiopia on May 7,2017
From the Ethiopian side:-
·
President Dr. Mulatu Teshome made a state visit to The Republic of Poland in 2018), at the invitation of the President of the Republic
of Poland, President Andrzej Duda.
·
H.E. former Prime Minister
Hailemariam Dessalegn who participated in the 19th Climate Change
Conference /COP 19/ held in Warsaw (2013) conducted fruitful discussions with
his Polish counterpart, H.E. Donald Tusk, the current President of the EU
Council, on how to further strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries.
During these discussions, both sides expressed their keen interest to revitalize
their relations.
Economic Relation
Before the Second
World War trade relations between Ethiopia and Poland were negligible. Poland
exported sugar and some textiles and imported small amount of leather and fur.
The crucial breakthrough happened in 1960 when the Office of Polish Commercial Counselor
was opened in Addis Ababa. Since then, export of Polish commodities rose
substantially. In addition to the diplomatic agencies, also the Ministry of
Foreign Trade was interested in cooperation with Ethiopia. In mid 1960s, Poland
sent to the Ethiopian market goods such as, tools, cotton and woolen textiles,
enamel pots, paper, ready-made clothes, cement and candies. At the same time,
negotiations on building a weaving plant were underway. Thus, both countries
started to ponder on broadening the scope of possible cooperation. As the
Ethiopian government pursued a liberal trade policy, there were no restrictions
on exports and no requirements to balance export against imports. A Polish company named Ursus is jointly
operating in Ethiopia with METEC in agricultural mechanization. The company has
signed 50 million USD loan contracts which enable it to assemble 3000 tractors
at the Adama Tractor Assembly plant. Another
Polish company named ASSECO has also signed an agreement of 10 million USD with
the Ethiopian Information Network Security Agency (INSA) to support the Modern
Energy Market with Information Communication Technology.
Institutional
Framework
· MoU of political consultations
between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries was signed in
2013 during the official visit of the Polish Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs, to Ethiopia.
· A Trade agreement was signed between the two countries on the 26th of December 1977. According to 2015 figure, trade volume between the two countries accounts only for 36,017,515 dollars. Moreover, the balance of trade is in favor of Poland.
People to People relations
Ethiopia attracted Polish scholars since the beginning of the 20th century. The pioneer was Izaak Wajnberg, the author of numerous and excellent works on Geez literature. Comprehensive studies on Ethiopia, however, were launched only in the second half of the previous century. The linchpin of Ethiopian studies in Poland is the Department of African Languages and Cultures at Warsaw University. The department, established in 1962 by an illustrious Semitist and Ethiopian Stefan Strelcyn runs a comprehensive program involving Amharic and Geez languages and literature as well as Ethiopian history and ethnography. Its graduates and then staff members include a few distinguished scholars, e.g. Witold Kazimierz Brzuski, Aleksander Ferenc, Rev. Stanislaw Kur, Joanna Mantel-Niecko.
