Prime Minister Abiy said in a message in Arabic on February 16, 2025, marking the start of the Ramadan fast, “Ethiopia has no desire to expand.”

In his message, Prime Minister Abiy called Ethiopia “a land of truth and loyalty” and said it “will not jeopardize the security of its neighbors.”

The Prime Minister’s remarks came amid heightened tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea over the possibility of a war.

Relations between the two countries have been tense since Ethiopia declared that access to the sea is an “existential issue.”

“As a true landowner, we want to assure the world that Ethiopia has no desire to invade, expand, or threaten the security of its neighbors,” he said.

The prime minister indicated that his desire to develop using our water resources “is not in any way to diminish the share of others,” in a response to Egypt.

Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan have been negotiating for years over the management and filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, but have failed to reach a mutually acceptable conclusion.

Prime Minister Abiy said the Nile is a great “divine gift,” and that it will be “a bridge of cooperation rather than a platform for conflict,” and that everyone should “use this river with justice and equality.”