Italy has handed back the first aircraft built in Ethiopia after over eight decades since it was stolen by the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini.
The red two-seater plane was built in 1935 and was named "Tsehay" in honour of the princess daughter of Emperor Haile Selassie.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed officiated the handover ceremony on Tuesday in Rome.
“Today is a day of great pride for Ethiopians as we celebrate the official handover of ‘Tsehay’ by the Italian Government,” Abiy wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
The plane was built in 1935 by a German pilot of the emperor, Herr Ludwig Weber, alongside Ethiopian engineers.
It has been on display at the Italian Aviation Museum in Rome.
The handover coincided with the Italy-Africa summit meant to reset the relationships between European country and the African continent.
The clamour for repatriation of artworks and objects stolen from Africa during the colonial period has been gathering momentum in recent years.
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