Ethiopia's Abiy renews push for Red Sea access amid regional tensions

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has reiterated that his landlocked nation requires access to the Red Sea, despite neighbouring states maintaining that responsibility for the sea lies with the countries bordering it.

Abiy made the comments during his swearing-in for a further five-year term on Monday. Addressing Parliament, he said Ethiopia would continue working to obtain a port on the Red Sea, describing such access as essential to the country's civilisation. He added that Ethiopia would pursue the matter through a principle of mutual exchange to secure an outlet to the sea.

Ethiopia has been without direct access to the Red Sea since 1993, when Eritrea, once part of Ethiopian territory, gained independence.

The renewed demand comes amid deteriorating relations between Ethiopia and its neighbours. Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea, Egypt and Sudan of backing opposition fighters in the Tigray region, where conflict against Abiy's government has recently intensified. Eritrea, in turn, has accused Ethiopia of attempting to secure sea access through Eritrean territory.

Separately, tensions with Egypt and Sudan have been heightened by disagreements over Ethiopia's Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile, a river both countries depend on for water.

On Sunday, four of the five nations bordering the Red Sea, Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia, held talks in New Alamein, Egypt, where they called for greater cooperation on regional matters.