FM Gedion Urges Int'l Community to Disabuse Eritrea's Misguided Policy, Encourage It to be Part of Vision of Regional Integration

Addis Ababa, November 14, 2025 (ENA) - Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos urged the international community to disabuse the Eritrean government of its misguided policy towards Ethiopia and the region, and encourage Eritrea to be part of the vision of regional integration by taking small, tangible steps for a brighter future.

Speaking at the Foreign Policy Forum on Developments in the Horn of Africa today, Foreign Minister Gedion said that rigid, uncompromising, outdated, and Manichean conceptions of sovereignty should give way to a more collaborative and integrated economic future from which both countries benefit.

"We should not be captives to our history but masters of our future destiny. We cannot undo what has transpired so far; the pain and suffering generations have endured because we often opted for conflict than dialogue. But we can change what will happen today and tomorrow," he noted.

Reaffirming Ethiopia's readiness for dialogue and for a different future, Gedion called on the international community to exert pressure and encourage the Eritrean government to desist from the provocations and violations against Ethiopia and engage in a good-faith dialogue. 

Enlightening the audience about the major underlying causes of the cycle of conflicts and tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, especially in its contemporary form, the Minister cited the following points, among others.

 

"Just like those who erroneously assumed that a border dispute about the town of Badme was the cause of the conflict in the 1990s, some think that the Assab port is the bone of contention and the locus of the tension between the two countries today," Gideon said.

He attributed the first factor as the desire of the Eritrean government to have an Eritrea that is sovereign and independent while enjoying the benefits and retaining the privileges to be derived from being part of the Ethiopian body politic.

"Both official and social media personalities affiliated with the Eritrean state feel entitled to take positions, provide opinions and even actively engage in Ethiopia’s domestic political matters. But this goes beyond politics."

The Foreign Minister further elaborated that "the Eritrean governing class believes that Eritreans have a stake in the Ethiopian economy. This sense of perverted entitlement, a belief that what is mine is mine and what is yours is ours, is a common thread that underlies our troubled history. Illicit, predatory, and exploitative trade practices were rampant before the 1998 conflict and echoes of the same tune can also be heard loud and clear even today."

He described the other factor as "the tendency of the Eritrean leadership to present itself as an instrument for all forces having hostile intentions against Ethiopia. The instrumentalization of Eritrea by those who desire to destabilize Ethiopia and curtail its progress makes peaceful coexistence very difficult."                   

According Gedion, it is not Eritrea’s national interests or just the predatory tendencies of the regime that are dictating a hostile policy against Ethiopia. "It is also the Eritrean leadership’s eagerness to act as a regional proxy for third parties that have made relations between the two countries very difficult. It could even be argued that this is a congenital defect of the Eritrean state."

The other factor, the Minister pointed at is what can be called the Isayas doctrine. "The Isayas doctrine is not written down or expounded explicitly, but it has now become quite obvious as a result of consistent application for over the years. This doctrine assumes that Eritrea’s continued statehood as a sovereign country is contingent upon Ethiopia’s insecurity, fragmentation and instability. As such the doctrine predicates Eritrea’s security on Ethiopia’s insecurity."

After explicating on the unjust and provocative moves and acts of the Eritrean government, FM Gideon concluded by saying that "we can change what will happen today and tomorrow. This is primarily the responsibility of the governments of both states. The Government of Ethiopia is ready for dialogue and for a different future. We call upon the international community to exert pressure and encourage the Eritrean government to desist from the provocations and violations against Ethiopia and engage in a good-faith dialogue."