Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed has arrived in France. He is expected to visit three other European countries to press the case for sea access.
No official statement has been issued by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the agenda of this visit. According to informed sources, the Prime Minister will be accompanied by his foreign minister Ghideon Timotheos. Gideon is already in Brussels.
Since 2023, the Prime Minister has been advocating the case of landlocked Ethiopia for access to sea. In his public speeches, he announced that Ethiopia will gain access to sea no matter what the cost is.
Ethiopian government in the last 18 months negotiated with Somaliland and Somalia to gain full access to a port. Talks with Somalia, mediated by Turkiye, are expected to resume in coming weeks. Eritrea refused to engage with Ethiopia on this issue. An offer made by Djibouti about its Tadjoura port went unanswered by Ethiopia.
Ethiopian government has hired lobbying and legal firms in recent months. According to some sources, the government intends to launch legal and diplomatic initiative to force Eritrea to talk to Ethiopia about sea access.
The Prime Minister is expected to visit France, UK, Italy and Germany. It remains to be seen how these European countries will respond to Ethiopian government’s diplomatic campaign about sea access.
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