AMECO AFRICA
Habtamu Itefa says securing sea access is central to Ethiopia’s Grand Medemer Strategy
Addis Ababa, 10 Nov 2026. Securing ownership of a sea outlet is a central part of the Grand Medemer Strategy, aimed at accelerating Ethiopia’s sustainable economic growth, boosting exports and ensuring citizens benefit, the Minister of Water and Energy has said.
Eng. Habtamu Itefa (PhD) said Ethiopia had made history by building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), realising its long-held ambition to develop the Nile. It is now working to secure an answer to its historic demand for sea access, he said.
He described the issue as a long-standing grievance among Ethiopians that has gone unresolved, and said the loss of its sea outlet had had a profound effect on the country’s history, politics and national interests.
The political leadership of the time, he said, had surrendered the nation’s interests and the people’s demands to historic adversaries, which he called the greatest scar in the country’s history. The minister said the government’s strong diplomatic approach meant the notion that Ethiopia deserves sea access was now a matter for the international community, not just Ethiopia.”Just as we overcame, through our unity, the plot by our historic enemies to stop Ethiopia building the Renaissance Dam, we will secure through our unity the sea access we lost to intrigue, and build Ethiopian civilisation to new heights,” he said.
He said Ethiopia’s current approach went beyond immediate needs and set a strategic direction that would shape the fortunes of future generations. The Grand Medemer Strategy aims, by 2050, to build a country that has secured prosperity and is respected and feared internationally, he said.
The strategy was designed not only to solve today’s problems but to take account of the development, economic and sovereignty needs of the next generation, he added.
In that light, Ethiopia had made its main development priorities the proper development of natural resources within its sovereign territory, including the Nile, the use of those resources for the prosperity of its people, and the strengthening of the national economy, he said.
With a population of more than 130 million, among the largest in Africa, Ethiopia suffers severe strain on trade, transport and economic connectivity from the lack of a sea outlet, he noted. Resolving the demand for sea access by legal, peaceful and diplomatic means was therefore vital to the country’s future growth, he said, according to the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA).
The minister said Egypt had never respected the interests of Nile basin countries and, together with its proxies, wanted Ethiopia to remain in poverty.Just as Ethiopia had realised its historic ambition of developing the Nile through the Renaissance Dam, it was committed to securing sea access through national unity, strong diplomacy and lawful means, he said.