Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said that securing access to the Red Sea is vital for Ethiopia’s survival, warranting thorough and careful discussion.
The topic of Red Sea access has come under scrutiny following the Prime Minister’s briefing to members of the House of People’s Representatives in a televised session.
In 1993, following Eritrea’s independence from Ethiopia, one of Africa’s largest countries lost its direct access to the Red Sea. Since then, the country has relied on the port of Djibouti, a neighboring small country, for imports and exports.
“The Red Sea and the Nile are intimately linked to Ethiopia, serving as the pillars that could either propel the country’s progress or lead to its demise,” Abiy said.
While the Prime Minister’s speech is not explicitly directed towards Eritrea, many are voicing concerns that it could potentially strain the recently improved relations between the two countries.
The Eritrean government has not issued an official response to Abiy’s statement but the Eritrean ambassador to Japan, Estifanos Afeworki, wrote on Twitter saying that “There is no if and but about Eriitrea’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. No amount of illegitimate instigation, propaganda, conspiracy, and defamation can change this truth.”
The Prime Minister emphasized Ethiopia’s crucial position as a major water source for neighboring countries, citing rivers originating in the country that flow into various neighboring territories. He also mentioned that a pipeline linking Djibouti and Ethiopia had been constructed at Ethiopia’s expense, adding that none of the neighboring countries provide water to Ethiopia, yet every one of them are beneficiaries.
“Declaring ‘I will take yours, but I won’t give you mine’ is not appropriate. Ethiopia, indeed, has every right to pursue access to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean,” Abiy asserted.
“When we had access to the Red Sea, we were one of the great powers,” the prime minister remarked, emphasizing that “gaining access to the sea should not come at the cost of bloodshed and conflict.”
In return, Abiy expressed his country’s interest in offering shares from the Renaissance Dam, Ethiopian Airlines, and Ethiotelecom. He stated, “When we propose sharing the benefits of the Renaissance Dam, it’s not merely an idea, we have calculated it. It yields substantial returns,” he said.
“We must address this today to prevent future generations from resorting to conflict. This can be achieved through discussions on investment options, shares, and leases. However, dismissing it entirely as a topic of conversation is a mistake,” he emphasized.
Abiy highlighted that port charges are exceedingly high for the country, noting that this amount of money could be used to build the Renaissance Dam every three years.
“We’re not insisting on Massawa or Assab specifically. What we seek is an accessible gateway. However it may materialize—be it through purchase, leasing, or any mutual arrangement—that’s our objective,” the prime minister stated.
He continued, “If we don’t find an alternative through dialogue, discussion today… It could be dangerous,” he cautioned, but he emphasized that Ethiopia’s pursuit of sea access should be conducted peacefully.
I don’t think this man is sane at all, he’s real sick.
After all, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for making peace with Eritrea. What is he saying now, trying to solve the problem of Asab port by force is a crazy idea. Maybe he thought by invoking this he might appeal to the general population who have increasingly a low opnion of him. It is just doesnot work. It is unfortunate that we have such a confused leader
Is talking about our natural right to have the sea acess is being confused? What is wrong with that? You label him as a bad leader because he does not fulfill your fantasty, whatever it is. It is time to realize that there will be no gain from spreading rumors and hearasys.
This could be quite interesting but hopefully no conflict occurs. It could mean Eritrea losing it’s independence in the future. Surely that would be retarded and sad.
Meanwhile I want a peace of Eden myself to get away from the faggots who rule my country. Hopefully none of this interferes with that.
Idk you kinda lost that right with the loss of Eretria as a territory. But this can’t end well either way. But I’m sure Ethiopia can live without the Red Sea (yes I know it has access through Djibouti but really could Djibouti ever say no?)
One should not pay attention to what this guy says. Previously, he has promised lots of things including bringing rainfall to draught affected parts of ethiopia by cloud thechonlogy. Of course that was all air.
Very clever. All air. Get it? Cuz it’s clouds?
I digress, Ethiopia doesn’t have that technology and other more powerful countries pretend they don’t. What a silly fantasy.
But this Red Sea issue is kinda different.
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Abiy is anxious to secure Ethiopia’s access to the Red Sea. And suggests a number of reasonable ways to accomplish it.
This makes sense. Definitely worth pursuing.
He seems like a man that can get this done.
I think Prime Minister Abyi is in hallucination. This is a day dream – this kind of dangerous rhetoric statements will deteriorate the relationships with Eritrea. Eritrea is a sovereign country and has paid a heavy price to every drop of water and inch of land and won’t sacrifice a drop or water or inch of land under any intimidation, propaganda and use of force.
Dear Ethiopians – learn the history and lift up your knowledge. Your leaders are misleading you by fabricating and creating unrealistic reasons and dreams.
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History repeats itself. Is Ethiopia going to repeat the 80-year history of betrayal once again? It was just two years ago that Prime Minister Ahmed was seeking help from the government of Eritrea and expressing gratitude for their support. Why is he now changing his stance against Eritrea? When will he fulfill the regional peace and cooperation he has been talking about, instead of planting ticking time bombs?
Here’s what an inexperienced politician does when they realize their power is wavering and they try to hold on:
1. They try to divert attention instead of resolving internal conflicts.
2. They employ the old political strategy of creating a common enemy to unite their people at any cost.
Who ultimately pays the price for these actions?