By RFIPubliée on 13-03-2019Modified on 13-03-2019 at 14:14

French President Emmanuel Macron left Ethiopia after an official visit. A trip during which a defense agreement was signed. It includes a new cooperation: France will help Ethiopia set up a military navy. Yet, Ethiopia no longer has a navy, since it no longer has access to the sea since 1991, and the independence of Eritrea, acquired in pain after thirty years of civil war.

The last ship of the old Ethiopian navy was an old patrol boat sailing until recently on Lake Tana. This was the last vestige of this branch of the armed forces, which was founded by Emperor Haile Selassie in 1955. This force was dissolved in 1996, after the loss by Ethiopia of the now Eritrean ports of Massawa and Assab. In addition, Ethiopia failed to reach an agreement with another country to continue sailing.

But times have changed. Henceforth, the "new" Ethiopia of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who made peace with Eritrea, intends to rebuild his navy. In early January, a committee of former officers was set up and made study trips to several countries, including France. A specific law has even been passed in Parliament. The challenge is of course to reaffirm the importance of the 100 million Ethiopians in the Red Sea, vital trade corridor, and in the Indian Ocean, against Iran, Saudi Arabia or the Arab Emirates United.

An implementation to be defined

Several options are studied for the implantation of this Ethiopian navy. We are talking about Somalia, Somaliland and Djibouti, of course, the "barracks" of the region as they say. But the most serious option is obviously Eritrea, and Massawa , the former home port of the Ethiopian Navy. Problem: Massawa, home of the lean Eritrean navy, was severely damaged by Ethiopia during the 1998-2000 war.

It could then be Assab, further south. But the port of Assab is now occupied by the UAE navy, from where it has been waging war in Yemen for several years. In any case, whatever the option chosen, the Ethiopian navy will necessarily operate from foreign ports, and perhaps from the very repressive Eritrea with the active support of France.

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