Port competition in the Horn of Africa has escalated in recent years, with growing geopolitical tensions and strategic interests at play. One of the latest developments in this rivalry is Djibouti’s decision to offer Ethiopia a concession to operate the port of Tadjoura. This move further complicates the already complex dynamics between the region’s key players and underscores the importance of port access for landlocked Ethiopia, whose rapid economic growth has made it a critical market for port operators and neighboring countries. Ethiopia, with a population of 130 million, has experienced remarkable economic expansion over the past two decades, positioning…
Author: Abren
The Ethiopian Capital Markets Authority (ECMA) has introduced its inaugural regulatory guidelines for the Ethiopian Securities Exchange (ESX), aiming to build investor confidence ahead of the exchange’s imminent launch. The Ethiopian government has been working for four years to establish a securities exchange as part of its broader economic reform and liberalisation agenda. This includes the recent decision to allow the Ethiopian birr (ETB) to float freely and open up strategic sectors such as banking and telecommunications to competition. The exchange’s debut will feature several significant state-owned enterprises, including Ethio Telecom, the Ethiopian Insurance Corporation, and the Ethiopian Shipping and…
Washington, D.C. – October 20, 2024 – The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) Governor Mamo Mihretu, alongside CEOs from several leading Ethiopian banks, gathered at the Ethiopian Embassy in Washington to discuss recent banking reforms and financial restructuring initiatives designed to modernize the nation’s banking sector. During the event, Governor Mamo addressed concerns from the Ethiopian diaspora regarding the floating exchange rate of the Birr and the significant regulatory changes underway. He noted real progress towards convergence between the parallel exchange rate and the newly established market-based bank exchange rate over the past two months, a natural result of the free…
Deepening rifts between the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the interim administration of the Tigray region in Ethiopia have led to significant political shifts, culminating in the displacement of TPLF hardliners from the regional capital, Mekelle. For months, the TPLF’s old guard and the interim regional government, led by Getachew Reda, have engaged in a blame game over the region’s botched recovery, marked by military defeats, what many claim to be “loss of territory”, and a breakdown in law and order. These tensions have roots in the discord that emerged in 2019 when the newly formed Prosperity Party, led…
Addis Standard published a piece earlier in the month titled “Op-ed: Red Sea is not the Suez Canal: What will be the outcome of Egyptian intervention in Ethiopia’s sea access quest?” It was authored by Miessa Elema Robe, who holds a PhD in Political Science and International Relations and is currently serving as head of the press secretariat at the Addis Abeba City Administration. He relevantly referenced the Moldovan-Ukrainian land swap of 1999 as a lesson for the Horn of Africa, which will be elaborated on. His article cited the New York Times’ 2015 piece about how “Time-Worn Village in Moldova Springs…
Egypt is escalating its efforts to pressure Ethiopia by leveraging regional proxies. Its renewed commitment to support insurgent groups in Ethiopia through Somalia and Eritrea is reminiscent of the 1970s and 80s, a period marked by significant turmoil in the volatile Horn of Africa. The latest engagement with Eritrea focuses on military cooperation and intelligence sharing, but the revitalized alliance between the two nations also reveals plans to wage a proxy war in the region. According to Egyptian authorities, the partnership among Cairo, Mogadishu, and Asmara is officially aimed at combating terrorism and securing Red Sea shipping, which has been…
This is an excerpt from the latest extended version of “Getting Ethiopia Dead Wrong” a book by veteran Horn of Africa correspondent Rasmus Sonderris Before I explain this, a caveat is in place. Fano is a movement rather than an organization. Notwithstanding repeated and ongoing attempts to unify the various Fano factions, there is still no Fano central command, let alone an official Fano platform. Incidentally, this is why it is harder to negotiate with Fano than with the TPLF, as the most extremist Fano groups, who tend to become empowered under a state of war, will disavow concessions made…
The New Lines Institute’s 120-page report on the Ethiopia’s “Tigray war” portrays the conflict as stemming from deep-seated tribal tensions or what it termed “entrenched competition between ethnic factions”. Published on June 4, 2024, the account singles out Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed as the catalyst for the conflict which broke out on November 4, 2020, purportedly in response to an attack on Ethiopian armed forces, though it swiftly dismisses this attack on the Northern Command as inconsequential in a footnote, citing Kjetil Tronvoll and Martin Plaut. Downplaying or omitting the fact the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) instigated the war by attacking army…