Getachun Tsegaye
Staff Reporter
Addis Ababa, May 14, 2025 — Against a backdrop of growing political and security tensions in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia and Djibouti are trying to reinforce their long standing partnership. On May 13, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos met with Djibouti’s Foreign Minister, Ambassador Abdoulkader Houssein Omar, in Addis Ababa.
The meeting, which marked Abdoulkader’s first official visit abroad since assuming office, centered on deepening bilateral relations and working together on pressing regional matters.
At a glance, the meeting projected a message of mutual respect and shared goals. Minister Gedion highlighted the unique nature of Ethiopia’s relationship with Djibouti, describing it as a “deep, multifaceted, and strategic partnership.” He noted that the bond goes beyond proximity, anchored instead in common interests ranging from economic ties and infrastructure to the wellbeing of citizens in both countries.
Abdoulkader echoed this sentiment, calling the relationship “rooted in shared culture, language, religion, and economic interdependence.” Both ministers agreed to strengthen their cooperation within IGAD—the Intergovernmental Authority on Development—suggesting a united front amid growing regional uncertainty.
However, beneath these diplomatic affirmations lies a set of tensions that neither country can ignore. In April, Djibouti enforced a controversial policy requiring all foreign nationals, including legal residents, to leave the country by May 2. Thousands of Ethiopians were affected. Despite efforts by the Ethiopian Embassy to negotiate a three-month extension, Djibouti stood firm, and deportations went ahead as scheduled.
The Ethiopian Embassy expressed “deep concern” over the decision, stressing that many of those being expelled are students, laborers, and legal residents with pending legal issues or unresolved financial obligations. Some were still waiting on unpaid wages, while others needed more time to sell property and settle affairs. “This decision has placed a significant humanitarian burden on Ethiopians who require time to settle personal and legal matters,” the embassy said in a public statement.
Djibouti’s firm stance appears to be part of a broader crackdown. In 2023, the country’s Interior Minister declared Djibouti “saturated” due to the growing number of undocumented migrants, citing over 220,000 arrivals in 2022 alone. Since then, the government has taken a harder line, ramping up deportations and tightening its borders.
Amid these challenges, a much larger question looms over the region: Ethiopia’s quest for access to the Red Sea. Landlocked since Eritrea gained independence in 1993, Ethiopia has become increasingly vocal about its desire to reclaim access to a coastline. In a widely watched speech in October 2023, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stated that “Ethiopia cannot remain landlocked indefinitely,” calling sea access a matter of national survival. “History, geography, and necessity demand that Ethiopia reclaims access to its lifeline,” he said.
Abiy’s remarks raised concerns across the region. Both Djibouti and Eritrea reportedly responded by placing their military forces on alert. Ethiopia has since doubled down on its message, embedding its maritime ambitions in international diplomacy. In early 2024, Abiy traveled to Turkey, where the Ankara Declaration was signed. It called for “equitable access to international trade routes,” a phrase widely interpreted as a nod to Ethiopia’s Red Sea aspirations.
In a notable gesture aimed at defusing tensions, Djibouti offered Ethiopia joint management of the Port of Tadjoura in August 2024, following Ethiopia’s controversial maritime agreement with Somaliland. Djibouti’s then-Foreign Minister, Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, clarified that the offer was for shared operation, not full control. The port, he stressed, is a national heritage and would not be sold or handed over entirely.
By September 2024, Ethiopia had not issued a formal response. However, Djibouti suggested that Addis Ababa had reacted positively in private and that talks were ongoing to hammer out the details of the arrangement.
Egypt—historically at odds with Ethiopia, particularly over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD)—is stepping up its presence in the Horn. On April 23, 2025, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi visited Djibouti. The two countries pledged to increase cooperation across a wide spectrum: from defense and media to energy, irrigation, and Red Sea maritime security. Their joint statement underscored a shared rejection of any actions that might threaten the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.
Both Egypt and Djibouti also voiced support for activating the Council of Arab and African Littoral States of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. For many observers, this was a clear message directed at Ethiopia—a move to build a regional coalition to counterbalance Addis Ababa’s ambitions.
For Ethiopia, this shifting landscape presents both opportunity and challenge. It is working to project itself as a rising power that cannot be boxed in by geography. But it must also navigate increasingly wary neighbors and a web of competing regional interests.
So while Ethiopian and Djiboutian officials reaffirmed their shared values and longstanding friendship this week, the underlying tensions are real and unresolved.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one Addis Ababa-based political analyst put it: “In the Horn of Africa, even the warmest handshakes often conceal clenched fists.”