{"id":838275,"date":"2026-10-24T22:10:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T02:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=838275"},"modified":"2026-10-24T22:10:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T02:10:00","slug":"ethiopias-intelligence-chief-says-red-sea-security-cannot-be-left-to-a-few-coastal-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/838275","title":{"rendered":"Ethiopia’s intelligence chief says Red Sea security cannot be left to a few coastal states"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Envoys<\/figure>\n

Envoys take part in a panel on Horn of Africa and Red Sea security at the Tana Forum's Special Envoys' Dialogue in Bahir Dar, October 23, 2026. Photo: Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via X<\/em><\/p>\n

Ethiopia's intelligence chief told a security forum in Bahir Dar that the Red Sea's security cannot be left to a few coastal states, pressing landlocked Ethiopia's claim to a role on the sea.<\/p>\n

Redwan Hussien, Director General of the National Intelligence and Security Service, made the case on Friday as he opened the Special Envoys' Dialogue of the Tana Forum, the annual security meeting held on the shore of Lake Tana. "The security of the Red Sea could not be left solely to the stewardship and guardianship of a few littoral states," he said, according to the Ethiopian News Agency, and he called for an approach that brings in the states of the region and what he called dependable international partners.<\/p>\n

He tied the argument to what is happening on the water. Redwan pointed to the growing militarization of the Red Sea, competition among foreign powers, and renewed attacks and blockades on commercial shipping around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and he said the region's minerals, land, water and location on global trade routes had long exposed it to outside powers that "vie for control." Ethiopia, he said, depends entirely on the Red Sea for its maritime trade and therefore carries a responsibility to help keep the route safe.<\/p>\n

Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan have argued that Red Sea security should be arranged by the countries that sit on its shores, and the Syrian news site Juhayna News read Redwan's remarks as a direct challenge to that position, noting that they come during the dispute with Eritrea over Ethiopia's demand for access to the sea and to the port of Assab. Dr. Engala Chome, a Horn of Africa analyst, told DW Amharic this week that an Egyptian-led Red Sea coalition including Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia, organized to oppose Ethiopia's ambitions for sea access, has been taking shape since about 2024.<\/p>\n

The envoys on the panel that followed, moderated by Paul-Simon Handy, spoke mostly about how the crises around the sea feed one another. Guang Cong, the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for the Horn of Africa, said Houthi attacks and disruptions to shipping now overlap with the war in Sudan, political trouble in Somalia and South Sudan, and the tension between Ethiopia and Eritrea, according to Sudan Tribune, which reported that he called for a regional approach that treats them as one connected problem. Germany's envoy for the Horn, Heiko Nitzschke, warned that closing or threatening the straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb would push up energy prices and disrupt world trade, and said this had led Europe to deepen its role in peace efforts. France's envoy, Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Clavier, urged dialogue and mediation over military solutions and respect for state sovereignty.<\/p>\n

Getachew Reda, the prime minister's adviser on East African affairs, used the same session to accuse Eritrea of fueling the region's crises and of preferring force to peaceful solutions, Sudan Tribune reported.<\/p>\n

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nebiyat Getachew told Al Jazeera that Ethiopia is following events with great concern and that the crises in Bab el-Mandeb and Hormuz affect the country directly and indirectly.<\/p>\n

More than 90 percent of Ethiopia's foreign trade passes through Djibouti, Abdurahman Warsame, a journalist, noted on X, adding that China and Djibouti issued a joint statement on October 21 on freedom of navigation and security in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb. Any closure or attack near the strait therefore hits the corridor that feeds Addis Ababa.<\/p>\n

Redwan closed by restating where Ethiopia stands. "I reaffirm Ethiopia's steadfast commitment to advancing regional peace, and I look forward to continuing our engagement across other platforms," he said.<\/p>\n

Sources<\/h4>\n