{"id":2427,"date":"2026-08-19T08:42:23","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T08:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/?p=2427"},"modified":"2026-08-19T08:42:23","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T08:42:23","slug":"israel-reaffirms-backing-for-ethiopias-peaceful-quest-for-sea-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/israel-reaffirms-backing-for-ethiopias-peaceful-quest-for-sea-access\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Reaffirms Backing for Ethiopia\u2019s Peaceful Quest for Sea Access"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Yohannes Lijalem<\/em><\/p>\n

Addis Ababa (AMECO)\u00a0\u2014 Israel\u2019s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Dr. Avraham Neguise, has affirmed his country\u2019s backing of Ethiopia\u2019s pursuit of direct access to the sea through diplomatic and peaceful negotiations, in an interview with Gazette Plus<\/i>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ambassador’s statement comes as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has repeatedly emphasized that Ethiopia is determined to secure sea access through dialogue, give-and-take diplomacy, and peaceful means. Grounded in cooperation and regional integration, the Prime Minister has maintained these core values as guiding principles for Ethiopia’s engagement with neighboring states and international partners. With the exception of a few historical adversaries, numerous friendly nations and organizations have embraced Ethiopia\u2019s legitimate claim for a maritime outlet through diplomatic channels.<\/p>\n

Emphasizing that a sustainable maritime outlet is vital to sustaining the economic growth of Africa’s second-most populous nation, Ambassador Neguise highlighted that Ethiopia’s dialogue-based approach aligns with international norms and economic development needs in the Horn of Africa.<\/p>\n

Ethio-Israeli Relations: Expanding Ties Across Four Strategic Pillars<\/h3>\n

This diplomatic alignment reflects a broader, expanding partnership between Addis Ababa and Jerusalem across four primary operational pillars:<\/p>\n

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    Government-to-Government (G2G):<\/b> Cooperation covers the transfer of advanced Israeli drip-irrigation technologies for large-scale wheat farming and agricultural value-chain training, such as avocado production workshops in Butajira. It also includes healthcare specialization exchanges for physicians, alongside digital economy initiatives sharing Israel\u2019s “Startup Nation” expertise, artificial intelligence models, and tech ecosystem frameworks to support Ethiopia\u2019s macroeconomic reforms.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Private Sector Investment:<\/b> Facilitation of Israeli corporate investments across commercial agriculture, health technologies, renewable energy, and water management systems.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Humanitarian & NGO Outreach:<\/b> Specialized medical assistance programs, including pediatric cardiac procedures, ophthalmic surgery through Operation Ethiopia, and emergency trauma management workshops delivered to over 100 doctors across eight regional Ethiopian hospitals.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Logistics & People-to-People Connections:<\/b> Multi-faceted connectivity anchored by Ethiopian Airlines\u2019 direct flights connecting Addis Ababa and Tel Aviv three times daily, alongside aviation partnerships such as passenger-to-cargo aircraft conversions.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Beta Israel and Heritage as the “Living Bridge”<\/h3>\n

    A cornerstone of Ethio-Israeli relations remains the Beta Israel<\/b> (Ethiopian Jewish) community, which numbers over 80,000 in Israel and serves as a vital dynamic in bilateral ties:<\/p>\n

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      Socio-Economic Integration:<\/b> Community members hold key roles across Israel\u2019s parliament, healthcare system, educational institutions, private sector, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      Economic Catalysts:<\/b> Serving as natural diplomatic and trade ambassadors, members leverage deep cultural and linguistic ties to both nations to facilitate joint ventures and investments.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      Cultural & Religious Preservation:<\/b> The community maintains strong ties through the preservation of Ethiopian heritage, the Amharic language, traditional cuisine (injera<\/i> and tej<\/i>), and cultural holidays alongside the Israeli calendar.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      This human connection is further complemented by historical religious ties, including seven Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo churches and monasteries preserved in Jerusalem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      By Yohannes Lijalem Addis Ababa (AMECO)\u00a0\u2014 Israel\u2019s Ambassador to Ethiopia, Dr. Avraham Neguise, has affirmed his country\u2019s backing of Ethiopia\u2019s pursuit of direct access to the sea through diplomatic and peaceful negotiations, in an interview with Gazette Plus. The ambassador’s statement comes as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has repeatedly emphasized that Ethiopia is determined to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[416,993,97,1407,590,48,78,85,136],"class_list":["post-2427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-world-wide"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2427"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2430,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2427\/revisions\/2430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2427"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ameco.et\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}