The first Russian diplomatic mission was in Addis Ababa from 1898 to 1917. In 1917, diplomatic relations between the two countries were interrupted and not resumed until April 1943.
Until 1991, bilateral relations were largely determined by the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation signed in 1978.
The first agreement on trade and cooperation between the USSR and Ethiopia was signed in 1959, after which trade and economic relations developed quite actively and reached their peak in the 1970s.
During the Soviet period, more than 20 major projects were implemented in Ethiopia with Soviet assistance: a number of industrial enterprises, large power facilities, a polytechnic institute were built, and a significant amount of geologic exploration activities was carried out. Ethiopia received particularly great assistance in overcoming the effects of years of drought and famine in the mid-1980s.
A bilateral Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation and Trade has been working since 1995.
In 2001, the Declaration on the Principles of Friendly Relations and Partnership between the Russian Federation and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was signed.
In 2002, a medium-term program for the development of trade, economic, scientific and technical cooperation between Russia and Ethiopia was signed.
Rostec State Corporation has a representative office in Ethiopia that ensures Rosoboronexport's interests.
