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Addis Ababa, 20 October 2026 Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called on the Eritrean government to embrace peaceful relations and shared development with Ethiopia, warning that rejecting peace could bring extremely severe consequences.
Abiy made the remarks in a Tigrinya-language interview with the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) on Monday, in which he contrasted Eritrea’s former industrial strength with the prolonged economic decline it has since experienced.
The Prime Minister noted that Eritrea once had more than 300 industries, describing it as a country with substantial productive capacity and a strong industrial foundation. However, he said the country had failed to sustain those economic achievements.
To illustrate the scale of the decline, Abiy pointed to the condition of Eritrea’s major cities. He said Asmara, once a commercial hub and well-known city, had lost much of its former standing, comparing it with Ethiopian cities such as Arba Minch and Jigjiga. He also described Massawa as largely empty and Assab as uninhabited.
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Abiy accused Eritrea’s political leadership of neglecting the welfare of its people, whom he described as hardworking and hospitable but now facing hardship and displacement.
He also accused the Eritrean government of becoming an instrument of forces hostile to Ethiopia instead of focusing on its own national development, saying such forces may supply ammunition and military support but cannot bring about the economic transformation Eritrea needs.
Abiy stressed that Ethiopia favours good-neighbourly relations and shared development, saying the two countries have an opportunity to build a cooperative relationship that serves their peoples and supports regional stability.
His call for cooperation, however, came with a warning. The Prime Minister said the consequences would be extremely severe if Eritrea’s leadership continued to reject Ethiopia’s appeals for peace and persisted on what he described as a destructive course.