President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has pledged to continue to nurture and strengthen the healthy and mutually beneficial relations between Nigeria and Ethiopia.

President Jonathan was speaking when he paid a visit to President Girma Wolde Giorgis of Ethiopia after his participation in the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday.

“We have very good relations and my visit to you, an elder statesman, is part of my desire to further strengthen the healthy and mutually beneficial relations between our two countries”, he stated.

President Jonathan said he enjoyed a good working relationship with Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, and expressed appreciation for Ethiopia’s positive role in affairs of the African continent.

Earlier, the Ethiopian President Girma Wolde Giorgis, said he was speaker of the Ethiopian Parliament fifty years ago, and recalled his interactions with Nigeria’s founding fathers, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Alhaji Tafawa Balewa and Sardauna of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello.

The 88-year old Ethiopian President thanked President Jonathan for the visit.