President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan discussed bilateral relations with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in a phone call, the Presidential Communications Directorate said Sunday.

The two leaders discussed spoke about Turkey-Ethiopia relations and regional developments.

Erdoğan highlighted that Turkey values Ethiopia’s peace and stability and that Ankara is ready to provide all types of assistance to ensure it.

Turkey’s bilateral relations with the continent have gained momentum in the last decade and are at a more sustainable place now thanks to Ankara having established high-level contacts. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has voiced on many occasions that Turkey wants to deepen its ties with African nations.

Turkey's engagement with Africa dates back to the adoption of an action plan in 1998, but relations really took shape in 2005 when Ankara declared the "Year of Africa." Turkey was accorded observer status by the African Union (AU) the same year. In a reciprocal move, the AU declared Turkey its strategic partner in 2008, with relations between the continent and Turkey gaining momentum when the first Turkey-Africa Cooperation Summit was held in the commercial capital Istanbul with the participation of representatives from 50 African countries that year.