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Ethiopia: Country in Position to Secure Its Djibouti Corridor - PM
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The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)
14 May 2008
Posted to the web 14 May 2008
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia has the means to secure its vital trade corridor with the Gulf of Aden in the event of conflict between Djibouti and Eritrea, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on Monday.
Addressing the country's economy with the business community at the General Assembly hall of the prime Minister's office, Meles said the recent Eritrea-Djibouti border row was a threat to the peace and security of the whole Horn of Africa.
Meles said despite in the face of unpredictable nature of the Eritrean regime, Ethiopia will make sure corridor was safe and sound.
"They do act silly sometimes, but I don't think they would go totally insane," Meles said referring to recalcitrant Eritrean regime.
"Even so, Ethiopia has a capacity of protecting the safety of the Ethio-Djibouti trade corridor," he added.
Asked about the relations between Eritrea and Djibouti, he said the tension between the two countries was not of direct concern to Ethiopia but could "threaten the peace and security of the whole sub-region." Organized by The Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, the high profile meeting discussed on : "The role of the business Community in Ethiopia," during which the Ethiop-Djibouti trade corridor was raised as possible factor to affect Ethiopia's foreign trade.
Meles told the members of the business community there was no reason to worry and urged to do business as usual.
Ethiopia relies on Djibouti for its imports and exports after Eritrea's breakaway independence from Ethiopia 17 years ago leaving Ethiopia a landlocked country, Tensions have grown between the two Horn of Africa nations since Djibouti accused Eritrean military forces of trench-digging along their common border and infiltrating Djiboutian territory by several hundred metres (yards).
Last week, Djibouti asked the UN Security Council to find a solution to its problem with Eritrea.
It has accused Eritrea of sending its troops inside its territory without giving any reasons.
Eritrea -- which has twice clashed with Djibouti over their common border -- broke away from Ethiopia and won independence in 1993 after three decades of conflict.
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A second, two-year war broke out in 1993 killing over 70,000 people from both sides.
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