Egypt is prepared to work with African allies to help secure Ethiopia access to the Red Sea if Addis Ababa shows flexibility in its water dispute, sources in Cairo briefed on private deliberations told The National. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa. Both Assab and Doraleh lie near the Bab Al Mandeb strait, which is the southern gate to the Red Sea. Hamza Hendawi / The National InfoEgypt, according to the sources, is planning to jointly develop Sudan's main commercial port – Port Sudan, on the Red Sea. Egypt, which has more than 2,000km of Red Sea coastline, has long insisted that the Red Sea must exclusively belong to littoral states; and those who are not cannot have permanent presence on the strategic waterway that links Europe, the Middle East, Asia and East Africa.

Source: Ethiopian News February 23, 2026 14:44 UTC