Lack of Sea Access Costs Ethiopia Billions Annually, Says Maritime CEO

Engineer Abdulber Shemsu, CEO of Ethiopian Maritime Transport and Logistics, stated that Ethiopia's demand for sea access is a matter of national survival and crucial for sustainable economic growth. Speaking to the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA), he pointed out that lacking direct access to a sea port forces the country to spend billions of dollars in foreign currency annually on port rent. Additionally, the absence of sea access delays import and export trade flows, imposing severe economic damage. Abdulber emphasized that these logistics hurdles highlight the rationality of the Ethiopian people and government's efforts to regain natural, geographical, strategic, and legal access to the sea.