The Egyptian Justice Party said that Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s attempts to demand maritime access to a port on the Red Sea has raised concerns among Ethiopia’s neighboring countries.
A statement from the party said: “The speech of the Ethiopian Prime Minister before his country’s parliament, about what he called ‘the existential necessity for Ethiopia to reach an outlet in the Red Sea,’ continues to raise reactions and questions about the motives of the campaign launched by the Ethiopian Prime Minister.”
The speech was well-received by Ethiopian media and political circles, the statement added, but has drawn out concern from neighbors such as Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia – countries that the speech addressed as potential destinations to guarantee the sea port.
The Justice Party explained that Ethiopia seeks seaports in the Horn of Africa region as part of a plan that Abiy Ahmed desires to implement for his overall project to achieve economic progress for Ethiopia and overcome its status as a landlocked country, thereby increasing Ethiopia’s insistence on owning shares in seaports in the region.
