French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that his government fully supports Ethiopia’s strategic ambition to have access to the Red Sea and to deploy the Ethiopian government’s official naval forces.
This statement was made in a joint press conference held by him and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, which underlined France’s commitment to strengthening the military, economic and political power of Ethiopia.
President Macron has promised multilateral assistance to facilitate Ethiopia’s efforts to secure commercial access to the region’s waters.
In April of this year, France rejected a resolution of the United Nations Security Council criticizing the agreement that Ethiopia entered into with Somaliland, which was initially described by the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, as a violation of Somalia’s sovereignty. However, Somalia later revised its position, allowing Ethiopia access to water through Somalia.
All these factors reflect the growing interest in the political geography of the Red Sea, and underline the strategic partnership that France has with Ethiopia to promote regional stability and economic development.
