Ethiopian PM Abiy demands Red Sea access as tensions with neighbours rise

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 insisted that his landlocked country must have access to the Red Sea, even as neighbouring countries have said responsibility for the sea rests with the states along its shores.

Abiy made the demand as he was sworn in for another five-year term on Monday.

“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 after Eritrea, formerly a region of Ethiopia, became independent.

Abiy’s call came as Ethiopia’s relations with its neighbours have worsened in recent months, with Addis Ababa accusing Eritrea, Egypt and Sudan of supporting opposition forces in Tigray following a resurgence of the fighting against Abiy’s government in the northern region.

For its part, Eritrea has accused Ethiopia of seeking access to the sea through its territory. A separate dispute over Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River has strained relations with Egypt and Sudan, which rely on the river for water.

Four of the five countries bordering the Red Sea – Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia – met on Sunday in Egypt’s 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 and Sudan’s use of Nile waters.

The following day, Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said discussions over the Red Sea must account for the country’s “legitimate interests and enduring connection” to the body of water.

Somalia’s president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who attended the Egypt summit, 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.