Addis Ababa bets on practical cooperation with Libya
LIBYA – An analytical report by the Ethiopian English-language website Horn Review has said that Ethiopia’s renewed opening to Libya and North Africa represents a calculated shift in its regional policy, grounded in national interests after its relations went through periods of estrangement, stagnation and ideological alignment.
Protecting citizens and combating arms smuggling
The report — followed and summarised by Al-Marsad — said rapprochement with Libya serves vital goals for Addis Ababa, including protecting its citizens, curbing the flow of destabilising weapons across the Sahel and expanding strategic partnerships beyond its immediate neighbourhood, despite Libya’s continuing political division and the influence of external actors.
Support for Libya’s Security Council bid for 2028 and 2029
The report described Ethiopia’s support for Libya’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council in 2028 and 2029 as a low-cost diplomatic step that helps build goodwill, while regarding the situation of Ethiopians in Libya as Addis Ababa’s most pressing interest.
Migration, economic pressures and Mediterranean routes
It noted that Ethiopians make up a steady share of irregular migrants in Libya, driven by economic pressures and displacement at home that lead some to use Libya as a main transit point for crossing the Mediterranean, which makes direct security contact with the Libyan authorities important.
Intelligence channels and intercepting arms transfers
The report argued that activating these channels could provide mechanisms for sharing intelligence and coordinating efforts to intercept arms transfers from Libyan territory to the Horn of Africa, and for dealing with interconnected networks that could threaten Ethiopian security.
Dealing with divisions without exclusive alignment
It said Libya’s internal divisions limit any external partner’s ability to achieve broad goals but, according to the report’s analysis, make careful, non-exclusive engagement the only realistic approach to cooperation.
It added that Libya would not replace the Horn of Africa as the focus of Ethiopia’s foreign policy, but that it opens up room for cooperation rather than confrontation, which had lain dormant for decades and now allows interests to be rebuilt on the basis of mutual benefit.
The report concluded that Ethiopia’s opening to Libya is a deliberate attempt to help shape the regional environment rather than simply react to crises.
