Ethiopia Possesses Immense Potential to Counter Threats, Advance Reform, Says PM Abiy

Addis Ababa, August 1, 2026 (ENA—Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Ethiopia has developed the capacity and institutional resilience to counter any threat to its national existence, while calling for internal disputes to be resolved through dialogue.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Amhara Media Corporation (AMC), the Prime Minister said Ethiopia has learned from the failures and divisions of its past and is better prepared to withstand efforts aimed at destabilizing the country or derailing its reform agenda.

"Today’s Ethiopia is not the Ethiopia of yesterday," PM Abiy said, arguing that the country is now more aware of its historical vulnerabilities and better equipped to respond to challenges.

The Prime Minister criticized armed groups operating in parts of the Amhara and Oromia regions, saying their claims of acting in the public interest are contradicted by their actions on the ground.

Drawing on Ethiopia’s historical experience, the  Premier said internal actors who aligned with external forces had contributed to major national setbacks, including the loss of access to the Red Sea, which he described as a strategic and historical blow with consequences that extended across generations.

He urged Ethiopians to reject a recurring pattern of destructive alliances and instead resolve political differences through the country’s longstanding traditions of reconciliation, dialogue, and community-based conflict resolution.

 

"Our disagreements can be settled by Ethiopians," he said.

"Bringing external forces into internal disputes has never produced lasting peace or national progress," the Prime Minister underscored.

Addressing the 2022 Pretoria Agreement that ended the war in northern Ethiopia, PM Abiy described it as a turning point that benefited the entire country by silencing the guns and allowing development to resume. He said the agreement had created conditions for expanded infrastructure, investment, and economic activity in the Amhara, Tigray, and Afar regions, as well as across Ethiopia more broadly.

The Prime Minister rejected claims that the Amhara region neither participated in nor benefited from the Pretoria Agreement, calling such assertions false and politically motivated.

He said representatives from the region were involved in deliberations at both government and Prosperity Party levels and that implementation of the agreement had supported development in the region.

Prime Minister Abiy also framed Ethiopia’s broader national transformation as a long-term process requiring broad public participation, patience, and sustained institutional commitment.

"Change is not the achievement of one individual," he said. "It is the result of the sacrifices and efforts of many Ethiopians."

He acknowledged that some citizens have legitimate concerns about aspects of the government’s reform agenda and said responding to those concerns remains a government responsibility.

At the same time, he argued that conspiracy-driven political narratives detached from facts threaten national cohesion and undermine the country’s future.

The  Prime Minister further elaborated that Ethiopia’s reform process has generated differing reactions among domestic political actors and members of the diaspora, with some opposition driven by personal interests, misinformation, or unrealistic expectations about the pace and direction of change.

He urged citizens to engage constructively in the reform process and evaluate developments based on evidence rather than speculation, warning that short-term political gains should not come at the expense of long-term national interests.

Reflecting on Ethiopia’s political history, the PM  said the country has repeatedly experienced attempts to seize power through violence, while also possessing a deep tradition of coexistence, integration, and nation-building.

 

He cited the June 22, 2019, assassinations of senior officials in the Amhara Region as one of the darkest episodes in recent Ethiopian history and warned against politicizing historical tragedies or distorting facts for partisan purposes.

"We must learn from both the positive and negative chapters of our history," he said, emphasizing that selective interpretations of history can deepen divisions and harm future generations.

PM Abiy concluded that Ethiopia’s future will depend on perseverance, national unity, factual understanding, and the ability to sustain reforms through peaceful political engagement and inclusive development.

He also stressed that the country’s transformation must be built collectively rather than through conflict or external intervention.