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Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Thursday, March 18, 2025, dismissed speculation that his country could resort to military action to secure access to the sea, stating that Ethiopia remains committed to diplomatic solutions. His comments, delivered in parliament on Thursday, sought to ease growing concerns over Ethiopia’s push for a seaport, a longstanding issue that has fueled tensions with neighboring Eritrea.
Abiy’s remarks follow his 2023 statement that Ethiopia’s lack of direct access to the ocean was an “existential issue,” sparking fears that Addis Ababa might seek a seaport through force. However, he clarified that his government would pursue negotiations based on mutual benefit rather than confrontation.
Ethiopia, home to over 120 million people, has struggled with the economic constraints of being landlocked since Eritrea’s independence in 1993. The loss of direct access to the Red Sea forced Ethiopia to rely on Djibouti for nearly all of its maritime trade, a dependency that has increasingly become a strategic concern for Abiy’s administration.
“We believe in cooperation, not conflict,” Abiy stated. “What the Eritrean people need is development, not war. Our goal is to work together, grow together, and find solutions that benefit all parties.”
Despite these reassurances, Abiy emphasized that discussions around sea access should not be avoided, arguing that global economic norms support the idea that large nations require maritime access for stability and growth.
The renewed focus on Ethiopia’s search for a seaport comes amid rising tensions in the northern Tigray region. Although a peace deal in 2022 ended a brutal two-year war between Ethiopian federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), political divisions within Tigray have deepened, raising fears of renewed violence.
Last week, Tigray’s Interim President Getachew Reda accused rival political factions of aligning with Eritrea to destabilize the region. “We have reason to believe external actors are exploiting divisions within Tigray for their own interests,” he claimed.
Eritrea has denied any involvement. Foreign Minister Osman Saleh rejected allegations that Asmara was interfering in Ethiopia’s internal affairs, dismissing the accusations as baseless. However, Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister Gedion Timotewos suggested otherwise, telling diplomats in Addis Ababa that the government suspected certain Tigrayan factions had ties to Eritrea, though he did not provide concrete evidence.
Ethiopia and Eritrea share a complicated history marked by war, uneasy truces, and shifting alliances. Following Eritrea’s secession in 1993, relations between the two countries quickly soured, leading to a bloody border war between 1998 and 2000 that claimed tens of thousands of lives. The conflict formally ended in 2018 when Abiy and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace agreement, a move that earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize.
However, the goodwill from that deal unraveled when Eritrea became involved in Ethiopia’s Tigray war, fighting alongside Ethiopian federal forces. Although the war officially ended in November 2022, Eritrean troops never fully withdrew, leading to continued suspicion about Asmara’s role in Ethiopian affairs.
Ethiopia’s efforts to secure a seaport have not been limited to Eritrea. In January 2024, Addis Ababa signed a controversial deal with Somaliland, the self-declared but internationally unrecognized breakaway region of Somalia. Under the agreement, Ethiopia secured access to the port of Berbera in exchange for the possibility of recognizing Somaliland’s independence, a move that sparked strong opposition from Somalia and heightened diplomatic tensions in the Horn of Africa.
Mogadishu condemned the deal as an attack on its sovereignty, warning that any recognition of Somaliland could destabilize the region. The agreement also triggered protests in parts of Somalia and drew criticism from international observers who feared it could fuel further conflict.
The conflict between Somalia and Ethiopia over the Somaliland port deal was resolved through diplomatic negotiations, culminating in the Ankara Declaration signed on December 12, 2024, when Turkey facilitated talks between the two nations.
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