Ethiopia’s Quest for a Seaport, Egypt and the Geopolitics of the Nile Basin

Tensions between Ethiopia and Egypt go back decades and reveal a web of Cold War intrigue, clandestine diplomacy and internal meddling. With Cairo winning friends and Addis Ababa making enemies, can a regional conflagration be averted?

At the beginning of 2024, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has been at war with his own people for the past five years, stirred regional tensions by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Somaliland. At home, he sought to win public support by…