Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks during a session of the Ethiopian Parliament in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026.
By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Monday reiterated that his landlocked country must have access to the Red Sea, despite opposing position of neighbouring countries who say at a summit on Sunday that responsibility for the sea rests with states along its shores, warning of the risk of regional conflict.
Ethiopia lost direct access to the Red Sea in 1993 after Eritrea, formerly a region of Ethiopia, became an independent nation.
Abiy said access to the Red Sea was critical to Ethiopia’s “civilization” and that he would work to ensure the country has a port.
“Based on the principle of give and take, we will work diligently to ensure that Ethiopia has an outlet to the sea,” he said shortly after being sworn in for a third term.
Ethiopia’s relations with its regional neighbours have deteriorated in recent months. The country also faces renewed war with separatist rebel groups in the northern Tigray region.
Fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front have clashed with government-backed troops in the Tigray region, where a devastating two-year war ended in 2022.
Researchers have estimated that 500,000 civilians died from violence, famine and the collapse of health services.
Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian forces during the war in Tigray, but recently, Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting the rebels and mobilizing support from Egypt and Sudan. Eritrea, in turn, has accused Ethiopia of seeking access to the sea through its territory.
Representatives of Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia met on Sunday in the Egyptian city of New Alamein and called for cooperation on regional issues. They said governance of the Red Sea was the exclusive responsibility of its coastal states and rejected actions that could affect Egypt’s and Sudan’s use of Nile waters.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that discussions about the Nile and Red Sea must account for geographic realities, noting that the Blue Nile originates in Ethiopia and that the country lies close to the Red Sea.
