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For more than a century, Ethiopia and the
United States have enjoyed warm government-to-government and
people-to-people relations. Those ties have transcended the passage of
time, and the strong bonds of partnership and friendship have continued,
unhindered by respective changes in government.
The U.S.-Ethiopian relationship was
formally established in December 1903 following nine days of meetings in
Ethiopia between Emperor Menelik and the government of Ethiopia and
Robert P. Skinner, an emissary of President Theodore Roosevelt. Ethiopia
appreciated Americas commercial interest in Ethiopia, and that the
United States did not possess colonial designs similar to those that
were currently being pursued throughout Africa by European powers.
The talks between Ethiopia and the United
States yielded a jointly-signed document known as the Treaty of Amity
and Commerce. This agreement accorded Ethiopia Most Favored Nation
status and eventually led to full diplomatic relations between the two
countries.
For more than a millennium, Ethiopia has
remained an independent state, and is the only African nation never to
be colonized. Today, Ethiopia boasts a strong relationship with the
United States and is a valuable partner in the war on terror. Ethiopia
is a lynchpin of stability in The Horn of Africa, a region of vital
national security interests for the United States.
Ethiopia is a young, federal-style
democracy made up of 80 different nationalities and peoples--each with
diverse cultures and indigenous traditions. For centuries, Ethiopian
followers of Islam, Judaism and Christianity have lived together in
harmony.
Ethiopia deeply treasures its partnership
with the United States and looks forward to continuing to strengthen the
ties of friendship that unite these two great nations and their people.
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