Asmara (Caasimada Online) – Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has accused the United Arab Emirates of orchestrating Ethiopia’s “reckless” push for sea access, revealing that he personally rejected an Ethiopian proposal he says would have devastated the economy of neighboring Djibouti.
Speaking in a state media interview, Isaias offered a sweeping new perspective on the deepening regional crisis — portraying Ethiopia’s actions not as internal policy decisions but part of a broader geopolitical “fantasy” driven by the UAE’s president.
According to Isaias, Ethiopia once floated a proposal to completely abandon the Port of Djibouti — which handles over 95% of its trade — and reroute all imports through Eritrea’s Port of Assab. He claimed the plan, had it gone ahead, would have wrecked Djibouti’s economy, which he estimated earns $4 billion annually from Ethiopian cargo.
“We told them that we would not contemplate such a scheme to harm a neighboring country,” Isaias said, casting Eritrea as a stabilizing force in a region increasingly fraught with tension.
UAE’s ‘constellation of ports’
Isaias went further, accusing the UAE of being the true driver behind Ethiopia’s port ambitions, including the controversial deal with Somaliland.
“In reality, these are not the [Prosperity Party’s] agendas,” he said, referring to Ethiopia’s ruling party, “but the fantasy of the UAE President who wants to create a constellation of ports under his control all over the region.”
The UAE has dramatically expanded its economic and military presence in the Horn of Africa. Its global logistics giant, DP World, operates and is expanding the Port of Berbera in Somaliland — the very port at the heart of Ethiopia’s recent deal.
In January 2024, Ethiopia signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the self-declared republic of Somaliland to lease 20 kilometers (12 miles) of coastline for a naval base and commercial access. The agreement, which also hinted at possible recognition for Somaliland, drew immediate condemnation from Somalia, which denounced it as an attack on its sovereignty.
Isaias, who has ruled Eritrea with an iron grip since the country gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, connected the current pressure campaign to Eritrea’s colonial-era struggles.
He argued that the idea of granting Ethiopia “sovereign access to the sea” echoed the rationale used after World War II to deny Eritrea independence. Instead, the United Nations federated the territory with Ethiopia in 1952 — a move that eventually led to decades of war.
“We must recall that our rights to decolonization were denied in the 1940s under similar pretexts,” he said.
By publicly rejecting Ethiopia’s alleged plan for Djibouti and exposing what he claims is foreign interference, Isaias is working to reframe Eritrea’s role in the region. He’s casting his country as a principled actor resisting destabilizing schemes — a sharp contrast to his reputation abroad as a secretive and authoritarian ruler.
His claims, aired as tensions with Addis Ababa continue to rise, suggest that the brewing conflict is about far more than sea access. It’s a power struggle over influence, alliances, and the future shape of the Horn of Africa.