At BRICS, Abiy Ahmed Frames Red Sea Access as an Economic Imperative Through Negotiations
At the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi on September 15, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed again cast Ethiopia’s quest for reliable sea access as an economic file, not a battlefield one. In remarks amplified by state-aligned Fana Media and summarized by regional outlets including Black News, he told delegates that for Ethiopia, access to the sea is “first and foremost an economic imperative,” and that Addis Ababa will keep pursuing it “through peaceful and negotiated arrangements.”
The speech tied maritime access to a wider connectivity pitch: access to finance must match access to markets; trade grows when payments and goods move efficiently; central banks should make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and more secure. “Physical connectivity is equally important,” Abiy Ahmed said, arguing that a large, growing, landlocked economy needs reliable and diversified international trade routes to lower trade costs, build resilience, and advance shared prosperity.
That framing is deliberate diplomacy. Neighboring officials, including in Eritrea, have rejected language about sovereign Red Sea access as a threat to territorial integrity. Only days earlier, Asmara accused Abiy Ahmed’s Prosperity Party government of actively destabilising the Horn of Africa and of harboring Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, claims Ethiopia denies and that remain unverified by independent investigators. Zegabi covered that exchange on September 14. The New Delhi line tries to walk Addis Ababa back toward commerce and negotiation while keeping the maritime claim on the summit agenda.
State messaging has also pushed a security rationale. An Ethiopian News Agency commentary carried by allAfrica on September 15 argued that Red Sea insecurity, from Houthi disruption at Bab-el-Mandeb to piracy risks, strengthens the case for an Ethiopian naval and commercial return to the waterway. Ethiopia still depends on Djibouti for the bulk of its maritime trade. Revived navy talking points and BRICS market talk sit side by side with the harder reality that “sovereign access” rhetoric has already unsettled Asmara and other littoral capitals.
For Amhara readers, the gap is not abstract. While Abiy Ahmed sells diversified trade routes and BRICS payment rails in New Delhi, AAA’s latest weekly still maps fighting, drone strikes, and civilian harm across eight Amhara zones. Palace photo ops about logistics hubs and maritime destiny do not pause the war that has displaced families and emptied aid pipelines at home. Economic necessity can be real for a landlocked country of more than 120 million people. So can the cost of pursuing regional stature while Amhara remains a battlefield.
What New Delhi clarifies is method, at least in public: negotiation, bilateral port arrangements, and BRICS-facing trade language rather than an open threat of force. What it does not settle is substance. Eritrea still treats Assab and related sovereign-access talk as non-negotiable. Regional mistrust remains high. And inside Ethiopia, the federal government in Addis Ababa has yet to show that maritime ambition and continental summit branding come with a political off-ramp for the Amhara war.
Sources: Fana Media (Sept 15, 2026); Black News (Sept 15, 2026); Ethiopian News Agency via allAfrica (Sept 15, 2026); Amhara Association of America (Sept 7 to 13, 2026 update).