On 13 October, state television released footage of Abiy telling lawmakers that Ethiopia’s landlocked status was like a “geographic prison”. The lack of a port is not just holding Ethiopia back from becoming an African superpower, but will in time “endanger Ethiopia’s existence”, he said. Referencing Ethiopia’s seafaring past, Abiy said he would assert the country’s “claim” to peacefully access the Red Sea, but his address was also laced with threats.
