The NewsA call by Ethiopia’s prime minister for his country to regain access to the Red Sea after a 30-year hiatus has sparked fears that the issue could destabilize the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia lost direct access to the sea in 1993 when Eritrea seceded from it after a war that lasted three decades. There is now fear that such an aggressive demand from Ethiopia might escalate into a regional war. An aid-dependent nation with an expanding economy, the inability to access the Red Sea and the accumulated cost of using the Djibouti port, along with recurring conflicts, have derailed its plans to become a middle-income nation by 2025. Samuel’s viewThis is the first time the Ethiopian prime minister has addressed lawmakers on the issue of the Red Sea without mincing words.
