Red Sea Takes Center Stage As Ethiopia Looks To Assert Regional Presence | The Reporter | Latest Ethiopian News Today

Ministry crafts nation building, national interest documents

A draft document prepared by the Ministry of Peace has proposed that the current administration should seek to reaffirm Ethiopia’s strategic and economic national interests in the Red Sea. These interests have been of great geopolitical importance to Ethiopia for centuries, until Ethiopia has become landlocked.

Titled “Ethiopia’s National Interest: Principles and Content,” the draft document emphasizes the imperative for Ethiopia to exercise its right to construct and utilize ports, ensure access to the Red Sea, as well as the Eden and Gulf Peninsula regions, and exercise its right to port development and utilization.

The Horn of Africa and the Red Sea region have become a magnet to superpowers competing for their geopolitical, geo-economic, and geostrategic interests, according to the document. Therefore, “Ethiopia should engage with other nations in the area to ensure its access to the ports and be able to overcome geostrategic impediments in this respect, the draft document noted, before such actions start to impede the development of the region,” it states.

The document provides a list of priorities, including the preservation of the country’s territorial integrity, enhancing regional influence, promoting peace and security, effectively advancing Ethiopia’s interests in the Red Sea and Gulf Peninsula area, and fostering pan-African development.

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Establishing principled bilateral and multilateral relationships, securing Ethiopia’s right to use the Nile River, ensuring access to ports, and maximizing the utilization of untapped natural resources, are also listed as priorities.

Considering its proximity to the Red Sea, “coupled with its growing population and economy, Ethiopia should promote its security, geopolitical, and economic interests in the red sea.” The document further asserts that the African Union should have ultimate authority over Africa’s water resources, seas and ocean shores.

In a documentary broadcasted on the state television channel last Friday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD) stated: “The Nile and red sea determine Ethiopia’s future. They will contribute either to its development or demise.”

The Ministry has produced another draft document titled “Ethiopia’s National Identity and National Values Identification/Decisions.”

This document outlines a new plan for Ethiopia to reconstruct its national identity. It addresses the necessary steps, principles, and approaches required for the implementation of Ethiopia’s revitalized nation-building project at various levels. It emphasizes Ethiopia’s new national identity project on the global stage and suggests the registration of patent rights.

The nation-building document recommends that the envisioned national values incorporate a range of factors, including the country’s diversity and historical heritage.