President Kagame and Ethiopian Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed Friday met for bilateral talks at the National Palace in Addis Ababa.

The two leaders committed to strengthen ties in key sectors including Defence, Air Services, Capacity building and in multilateral fora.

The meeting was followed by a tour of Hawassa Industrial Park which has attracted 18 leading global apparel and textile companies.

The first of its kind in the country, Hawassa Industrial Park is expected to generate around 60,000 jobs and $1 billion in export revenues according to the World Bank.

President Kagame was also hosted to a State Banquet by the Prime Minister where he thanked and praised his host.

"I congratulate Prime Minister Abiy for being the leader he deserves to be, the trust and confidence put in him by this great nation were for a good reason. I cannot thank you enough, it has been a great moment for you, we can only move forward if we continue working together hand in hand,” said President Kagame.

"President Kagame is not only the President of Rwanda, he is also leading the continent in great, wise and miraculous ways of transforming the continent and economic integration as well as realising the vision of our forefathers. I am grateful to have him here in Ethiopia. We will continue working together, we have many great visions to disrupt this continent,” said Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

President Kagame will today chair a number of Consultation Meetings on the African Union Institutional Reform Process including with the Group of 15 Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Heads of Regional Economic Communities and the Bureau of the Assembly at the African Union Headquarters.

President Kagame was last in Addis Ababa in January this year during which he was elected Chairperson of the African Union.