PUBLISHED ONNovember 24, 2025 12:42 PMBYSean LerSingapore will be establishing a new embassy in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, the city state's third in Africa and first in east Africa, announced Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday (Nov 24).
PM Wong made the announcement at a joint press conference with the country's prime minister Abiy Ahmed Ali after a delegation meeting.
He said that there is "clear potential" for the two countries - both hubs in their respective parts of the world - to grow their bilateral cooperation, and to bridge and connect the two regions.
Calling it a "tangible demonstration" of Singapore's commitment to its partnership with Ethiopia, PM Wong said it also reflects Singapore's belief in Ethiopia's strategic importance and potential.
"Our embassy will also enable Singapore to strengthen our ties with Africa as a whole. Because being here in Addis Ababa will allow us to better engage the African Union, deepen our understanding of Africa, and explore new areas of cooperation," PM Wong said.
The African Union Commission, the administrative headquarters of the 55-member African Union (AU), is headquartered in Addis Ababa, while AU's Pan-African Parliament sits in Midrand, South Africa.
Singapore's two other diplomatic missions in Africa are in South Africa's Pretoria and Egypt's Cairo.
The two leaders also witnessed the signing of two memoranda of understanding on skills development and carbon credits collaboration.
The Singapore-Africa Partnership Leading to Growth and Sustainability, or "Saplings", will see African officials offered customised study visits to Singapore, including executive education programmes and postgraduate scholarships in Singapore universities.
PM Wong added that this will allow African officials to learn about aspects of Singapore's development journey which are most relevant to their respective countries.
Calling it a "partnerships of equals", PM Wong said: "So this is not about us teaching Ethiopia at all, or offering lessons. It is a partnership of equals. It is a partnership of us working together closely for a win-win partnership. This is how we see this relationship going forward."
Singapore and Ethiopia also agreed to collaborate on carbon credits.
Under the agreement, both countries will explore cooperation in carbon markets, including the exchange of best practices and knowledge on carbon market mechanisms, as well as future collaboration on initiatives to support the development of high-integrity carbon markets.
PM Wong will visit Repi-Wilmar's factory in Addis Ababa later on Monday.
He will also be hosted to an official dinner by Dr Abiy.
Before leaving for Singapore on Nov 25, PM Wong will meet with the director-general of the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
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