Fesseha Shawel Gebre, ambassador of Ethiopia to India, expressed gratitude for India’s response to the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam and vehemently denounced the incident, accusing Pakistan of masterminding the carnage that claimed 26 civilian lives.
In addition to highlighting Ethiopia and India’s joint battle against terrorism, the ambassador commended India’s “responsible” response and mentioned that an Indian delegation is scheduled to visit Ethiopia by the end of May to provide an update on the incident.
The terrorist attack has been denounced by Ethiopia. India did not escalate and responded in a very responsible manner. The Pakistanis came to India to cause trouble, not the Indians who traveled to Pakistan to do so. They were using religion to identify people. This is awful. This is not acceptable. Ethiopia is battling terrorism in East Africa, same like India. At the end of May, we will also receive a delegation from India, Ambassador Gebre said.
#WATCH | Delhi: On the Harit Yoga program in Ethiopian Embassy, Ambassador of Ethiopia to India, Fesseha Shawel Gebre says, "In Ethiopia, there are no Hindus, there are Christians and Muslims in equal numbers, but they still practice yoga… They even meditate and pray and do… pic.twitter.com/VF1C0yquyZ
— ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2025
India launched “Operation Sindoor” on May 7 to target nine terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in response to the April 22 terror attack, which was carried out by terrorists with Pakistani support. Subsequent Pakistani attack was likewise successfully repelled by the Indian Armed Forces. The two nations have come to an agreement to halt military operations after Pakistan’s DGMO called his Indian counterpart.
In light of Operation Sindoor and India’s ongoing battle against cross-border terrorism, a seven-party delegation will travel to important partner nations, including UN Security Council members. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, BJP members Ravi Shankar Prasad and Baijayant Panda, JD-U’s Sanjay Kumar Jha, DMK member Kanimozhi Karunanidhi, and NCP-SP leader Supriya Sule are leading the delegations.
In the meantime, Ambassador Gebre praised the popularity of yoga around the world and compared Ethiopia’s gift of coffee to India’s commitment to yoga.
“In Ethiopia, we don’t have Hindus; we are Christians and Muslims in equal numbers, but they still do yoga,” Gebre noted in reference to the Harit Yoga program at the Ethiopian Embassy. Even though they are not Hindus, they yet do rituals, meditate, pray, and cross their legs, proving that it transcends all religions. People are aware of what yoga is if you mention it anyplace in the world. It’s as if your spirit, body, and self come together to listen to your inner voice.
Ethiopia has contributed coffee to the world, much like India has contributed yoga. Together, we’ll promote coffee and yoga. India’s concern for people, animals, birds, and plants makes it a good country. We must learn from India,” he continued.
The Ministry of AYUSH claims that Harit Yoga is a sustainability-focused program that combines yoga with clean-up campaigns and tree planting.
