Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed takes the oath of office for a new five-year term at parliament in Addis Ababa [Handout/Ethiopian Prime Minister’s Office via Reuters]
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has renewed his call for access to the Red Sea, arguing that the landlocked country’s future depends on securing an outlet to the strategic waterway despite objections from neighbouring coastal states.
- Advertisement -
Abiy reiterated the demand on Monday as he was sworn in for a second five-year term.
Addressing Parliament, he repeated his position that Ethiopia would pursue access to a Red Sea port, describing the issue as vital to the country’s “civilisation”.
“Based on the principle of give and take, we will work diligently to ensure that Ethiopia has an outlet to the sea,” he said.
Ethiopia lost direct access to the Red Sea in 1993, when Eritrea, formerly an Ethiopian region, gained independence.
The prime minister’s remarks come amid deteriorating relations between Addis Ababa and several neighbours. Ethiopia has accused Eritrea, Egypt and Sudan of backing opposition forces in Tigray, where fighting against Abiy’s government has intensified again in the northern region.
Eritrea, meanwhile, has accused Ethiopia of pursuing access to the sea through Eritrean territory. Relations with Egypt and Sudan have also been strained by a separate dispute over Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River, on which both countries depend for water.
On Sunday, four of the five countries bordering the Red Sea – Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia – met in Egypt’s New Alamein, where they called for greater cooperation on regional matters.
The countries said responsibility for governing the Red Sea belonged exclusively to its coastal states and rejected measures that could affect Egypt and Sudan’s access to Nile waters.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry responded the following day, saying any discussions about the Red Sea must take into account the country’s “legitimate interests and enduring connection” to the waterway.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who attended the summit in Egypt, congratulated Abiy on his re-election.
“I look forward to working closely together to strengthen Somalia-Ethiopia relations & advance peace, stability & shared prosperity for our peoples & the Horn of Africa,” he said in a post on X.
Mohamud previously told Al Jazeera that Somalia had no objection to Ethiopia obtaining Red Sea access through Somali territory, but said the two countries would have to negotiate the matter formally.
Burundi’s President Evariste Ndayishimiye also wished Abiy “every success during his renewed mandate”. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, chairperson of the African Union Commission, sent his congratulations as well.
