Ethiopia

Located in East Africa, Ethiopia is the oldest independent state in Africa, whose origin can be traced back to 1270 A.C. Since then, the country has always maintained independence, despite a short period of Italian occupation (between 1936 and 1941). The Ethiopian Empire lasted until 1974, when it was overthrown by a military coup d'état.

Ethiopia is a landlocked country, bordering to the south with Kenya, to the southeast and east with Somalia, to the northeast with Djibouti, to the north with Eritrea, to the northwest with Sudan and to the west with South Sudan. Ethiopia’s population is 113.6 million, which makes it the second most populous country in Africa, after Nigeria. The official language is Amharic, but Oromo, Tigrinya and Somali as well as tens of other ethnic languages are regularly spoken in the country.

From a geostrategic perspective, Ethiopia is a very important country in the region. Since the beginning of the 2000s, it has achieved an important level of economic development, making it one of the main emerging market in sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia has an ongoing dispute with Sudan and Egypt over the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the sharing of the Nile waters. It has also an open border dispute with Sudan, which has been the source of recent military confrontations between the two countries. Domestically, the disruption of the delicate balance based on ethnic federalism has turned into a conflict in the north of the country, which is still ongoing.

Trade with Italy is significant, and Ethiopia ranks fifth among Italy’s main export markets in sub-Saharan Africa. Overall, Italy is the fifth trading partner for Ethiopia. Italian companies are contracted for several infrastructural projects in the country, including the construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, for which the Italian multinational Webuild (former Salini Impregilo) is the main contractor.