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[AbyssiniaLady]

Prospects Of A Red Sea Cooperative Council

April 26, 2022


Google map of the Red Sea and the region

By Kidane Alemayehu


Following The Opening Of The Suez Canal In 1869 The Red Sea Has Become One Of The Most Important Sea Lanes In The Whole World. Billions Of Dollars Worth Of Goods Including Oil Are Being Transported Through The Red Sea Which Facilitates Quite A Robust Trade Between The West On The One Hand And The Middle East And Asia In General On The Other Hand.

What Is, However, Easily Noticeable Is The Fact That The Countries Adjacent To The Red Sea, Particularly Those On The African Side Are Mere Observers Of This Huge Trade Flowing Relentlessly In Front Of Their Noses But Are Not Part Of It In Any Meaningful Manner.

For All Intents And Purposes, The Red Sea Is, As Far As The Adjacent Countries Are Concerned, A Huge Ocean Keeping Them Apart Instead Of Serving As A Medium Of Collaboration And Mutual Support. Unlike The Arab Gulf Cooperative Council Which Brings Together Arab Countries Adjacent To The Persian Gulf, The Red Sea Is Being Utilized Merely As A Trade Sea Lane For The Rich And The Powerful In The West, Asia And Australia.

Potential Benefits For Collaboration

Immense Benefits Could Accrue To All The Countries Surrounding The Red Sea Only If The Governments Were To Come Together And Chart Out An Appropriate Strategy And Action Plan To Make Full Use Of The Huge Resources That The Region As A Whole Could Offer For The Benefit Of Their Peoples Currently Totaling 200 Million And Increasing To Over 400 Million In 20 Years.

Among The Potential Benefits Of Collaborating In The Context Of A Red Sea Cooperative Council, The Following Could Be Sited As Examples:

(A) The Existing Mutually Advantageous Resources Among The Adjacent Countries E.G. Oil And Investment On The Arab Side And Agricultural, Mineral, Water, And Human Resources On The African Side Could Be Exploited For A Common Advantage;

(B) The Mostly Underdeveloped Eleven Sea Ports Around The Red Sea Could Be Upgraded To Provide, Similar To Dubai, Singapore, Etc. International Standard Maritime Service Thereby Bringing In Increased Trade And Employment;

(C) The Utilization Of The Red Sea For Common Advantages Would Render It A Region Of Peace Instead Of The Current Situation Which Has Made It An Area Of Serious Potential Dangers Involving, On The One Hand, France, Israel And The United States, And Iran On The Other Hand;

(D) The Peace And Stability That Could Prevail As A Result Of A Sustainable Collaboration Among The Countries Adjacent To The Red Sea Could Go A Long Way In Alleviating The Current State Of Conflict, Grinding Poverty, And Endemic Diseases Such As Malaria And Tb;

(E) The Underdeveloped But Huge Resources Especially On The African Side Such As Water, Agriculture, Minerals, And The Environment Could Be Put To A Better Advantage For The Benefit Of The Region’s People As Well As For The International Community;

(F) Effective Utilization Of The Region’s Resources As Well As The Achievement Of Peace And Stability In The Region Could Relieve The International Community From The Perennial Demands For Financial And Other Assistance;

(G) The Achievement Of A Sustainable Development Through An Integrated Or A Holistic Development Strategy That Spans All The Countries In The Horn Of Africa (Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia And Somalia) As Well As Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, And The Yemen Would Bring About A Level Of Prosperity That Would, Among Other Things, Avoid Making The Region A Breeding Ground For International Terrorism.

Factors Mitigating Against Collaboration

There Are, Unfortunately, Serious Underlying Constraints Mitigating Against A Meaningful Collaboration Among The Countries Adjacent To The Red Sea. The Constraints Are So Inhibiting That The Whole Idea Of Collaboration In The Region Appears, At Least At This Stage, Highly Speculative And A Virtual Pie In The Sky. Such A Line Of Thinking, However, Merely Subscribes To The Current State Of Affairs In Which Countries In The Region Continue To Be At Loggerheads Among Each Other Thereby Perpetuating Conflict And Poverty.

In Order To Move Towards The Higher Objective Of Collaboration In The Region, It Is Essential To Identify The Challenges Clearly And Meet Them Headlong. Otherwise, There Would Be No Prospects Of Achieving Peace And Development In The Region. The Underlying Challenges Facing The Region At The Moment Include:

(A) The Myopic Interests Of The International Community; For Instance:

(I) China Which Is Merely Interested In Short-Term Gains: Selling Its Services And Obtaining Some Natural Resources;

(Ii) India Which Is Interested In Obtaining Land At Give-Away Rates In Ethiopia;

(Iii) The Arab Gulf Countries Which Are, In The Most, Intent On Short-Term Gains Including Exporting Wahabism To Ethiopia;

(Iv) Europe Which Seems To Be Interested In Keeping The Region At Bay And Selling Its Products At A Very Minimal Level;

(V) Usa Which Appears To Be Satisfied With Keeping The Region Under Its Control Against International Terrorism;

(Vi) Japan Which Is Satisfied In Selling Its Products Also At A Minimal Level; (B) The Absence Of Good Governance, Rule Of Law, And Respect For Human Rights In The Region And The Prevalence Of A Huge System Of Corruption;

(C) The Ineffectiveness Of The International And Regional Organizations Such As The Un, Au, Igaad, Etc. In Dealing With The Serious Economic, Social And Political Challenges Resulting From The Obviously Flawed Policies Of The Various Governments;

(D) The Presence Of Leaders In The Region That Are Intent On Merely Subjugating Their Respective People And Have No Qualms About Perpetuating A State Of Conflict With Their Neighbors.

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Editor’s Note : The Article Was First Shared On P2p Ethiopian Forum On April 26,2022


https://borkena.com/2022/04/26/red-sea- ... -alemayehu

[AbyssiniaLady]

The Role of the Horn of Africa States in The Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

April 23, 2022 Analysis & Opinion

By Dr. Suleiman Walhad
April 23rd, 2022


The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are extremely important for the Horn of Africa States yet, discussion on the peace and security of these maritime waters are only considered with reference to the Arabian region, without due consideration to the importance of these waters and its marine life to the Horn of Africa States.

Generally, the Horn of Africa States have not themselves taken a lead role in matters related to these waters and if there was any involvement, it was mostly reactive to what others were already doing in the region and its waters. We know the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden have strategic and economic significance unparalleled anywhere. Many countries that are from beyond the Horn of Africa States covet the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and protect their interests through direct military presence. Djibouti currently hosts so many navies and other forces from different countries. The Saudis and the Emiratis also dominate the other side of the waters and have military presence in Yemen.

The Turks and Qataris are also involved through their presence in Somalia today. Yet the region, despite the individual reactive involvement does not have a homegrown strategic attention to these important waters. Perhaps the last time there was such an interest from the Horn of Africa States, was during the now defunct Somali government before the nineties when the country enjoyed a decent naval force to protect its rights to these waters.

The complexities of the Arabian Gulf involvement in these waters and presence of much more powerful navies from afar complicates matters more for the Horn of Africa States, which does not have a common plan or common mechanisms to address the competitions coming from near regions and from afar. It is high time the Horn of Africa states outlined and defined a common approach to the side effects coming from the competitions from beyond. It is also perhaps high time that the region outlined new platforms to define and defend their interests in the waters together. The complex competition over the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden is evidenced by the presence of the first Chinese naval base outside China proper in Djibouti and this is further complicated by the presence of the United States Africom in Djibouti as well. The European Union is not far behind as European naval presence date back to the nineteenth century, when France set up base in Djibouti. The Gulf countries of Arabia have also been using their new found wealth to make their presence felt. They now dominate the waters of the Rred Sea and the Gulf of Aden from the Arabian side of these waters through their presence in ports like Mukalla, Aden, Mocha and others. The Horn of Africa States would need to reposition their priorities towards the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden waters so as not to be sidelined like, what has been going on over the past three decades, when much has changed in the region. This would be helpful in the regional peace and security dynamics of the members of the Horn of Africa States.


The Horn of Africa States would need to weigh its own priorities in the face of the misaligned priorities of naval powers from beyond the region. Lately there were disputes among the Arabian Gulf states and this posed a dangerous sense of insecurity to the Horn of Africa countries, which were almost forced to choose among the competing Arabian Gulf countries. This was an unpleasant experience, which should never be repeated. What they have done to Yemen should be clear evidence of their malevolent intentions towards the waters of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

In 2019, the Red Sea Cooperation Council, an alliance between Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Eritrea, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan was created, under the auspices of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Horn of Africa States should not individually be a member of such an alliance, where the weight of members is highly tilted towards one or two of the bigger members. The members of the Horn of Africa States should go together in any alliance in the form of a block and not as individual members, which would help them, underscore their weight as a region.


The economic zones of the Horn of Africa States in these waters of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden are equally an important element to consider. They would, therefore, need to protect their exclusive economic zones and their sovereign territories against outside interference and working together would appear to be the best and most viable way to defend against non-regional actors exploiting the rich marine life of the region.

It is why consultations among the Horn of Africa States would always be necessary to articulate the priorities, concerns and challenges of the region in relation to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden waters and from thereon develop ways to protecting together the rights of the region. In the past, the members of the Horn of Africa States were wrongly in competition where all members were losers in that wild competition created by the politicians of the time. Now that, that is being replaced by closer co-operation among the members, the dynamics of inter-country competition should not hamper the development of a common approach to addressing the regional peace, security and development needs.



The Arabian Gulf States have recetly been showing a more aggressive approach to the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden waters on entering the Horn of Africa States side of the waterway. The UAE has already destroyed the port of Aden and is sitting on other ports on the Yemeni side to ensure that they do not pose an economic burden on the Jebel Ali Free Zone Port of Dubai. They already crossed to Djibouti, which after realizing their malintent, rebuffed them early on. Court cases are underway between the two countries. The UAE has turned its eyes on weak Somalia, where they have signed contracts with regional states under the new federal system of the country. This includes DP World involvement in Berbera port in breakaway Somaliland and Bossaso port in Puntland State. The latter has more problems than the Berbera port.

The competition for the region from other powers are not limited to the US and China or the European Union. The Indians are said to be discussing to have naval presence in Djibouti and so are the Russians. We already mentioned the Turks and the Qataris and the Emiratis and the Saudis. Sometimes, though a sword may have two sharp edges and opportunities may emanate from this presence, but such opportunities can only seriously be achieved, should all the members of the Horn of Africa be working together to protect their collective security and development. Swimming together they would survive in this new scramble for the waters of the region, divided they will all sink!

*Dr. Walhad writes on the Horn of Africa economies and politics. He can be reached at [email protected]


https://zehabesha.com/the-role-of-the-h ... lf-of-aden

[AbyssiniaLady]

Dr. Suleiman Walhad is well informed.

[Axumezana]

#Bring Back Our Access to Red Sea!

[AbyssiniaLady]

#Bring Back Our Access to Red Sea!

Low IQ chimp stop spamming the forum with your repetitive "bring back our access to red sea thread", Ethiopia is a landlocked country and it will remain a landlocked country for eternity.

[AbyssiniaLady]

View of international waters from Ras Dumeera, (ራስ ዱሜራ)- Southern Red Sea Region. @AhmedaniMohamm1

View of “international waters” caught my attention, This water fall under the jurisdiction of Afar State, It is the territorial waters of Afar State not international waters, Afar State's territorial waters extend into the sea to a distance of 12 nautical miles from the coast baseline, plus exclusive economic zone.

According to the Pentagon’s annual Freedom of Navigation Report, Yemen, the war torn nation whose coast lies on the other side of the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb requires foreign warships to give prior notification before transiting the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

[Fiyameta]