Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald)
US supports Ethiopia’s push for maritime access; says is “very important” and should be pursued “through commercial means” and “peaceful, diplomatic contexts”
The United States supports Ethiopia’s efforts to expand maritime access “through commercial means” and “through peaceful and diplomatic contetexts,” said Ervin Massinga, U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, who emphasized that the issue is critical given the country’s economic trajectory.
“With the economy growing as quickly as it is,” and with forecasts showing continued expansion, Amb. Massinga told state media that, “expanding maritime access is important.” He added that supporting such efforts “is something that the United States government, my embassy, intend to support going forward.”
The ambassador noted that Washington “understands this issue.”
Speaking about Washington’s engagement with Ethiopia, the ambassador said the U.S. approach involves “working with the country of Ethiopia’s size,” but added that “more important than its size” is “its influence and its capacity to help the region restabilize.”
“That is a core bedrock approach of the United States,” he said, and affirmed that it “will be a central point of what the United States is going to be doing” in the Horn of Africa.
