Ethiopia again demands access to the Red Sea as tensions with neighbors escalate

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reiterated on Monday that his landlocked country must have access to the Red Sea, despite neighboring countries saying at a summit Sunday that responsibility for the sea rests with states along its shores and warning of the risk of regional conflict.

Ethiopia lost direct access to the Red Sea in 1993 after Eritrea, formerly a region of Ethiopia, became independent.

Abiy said access to the Red Sea was critical to Ethiopia’s “civilization” and that he would work to ensure the country has a port.

“Based on the principle of give and take, we will work diligently to ensure that Ethiopia has an outlet to the sea,” he said shortly after being sworn in for a third term.

Ethiopia's relations with its regional neighbors have deteriorated in recent months. The country also faces renewed war with separatist rebels in the northern Tigray region.

Fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front have clashed with federal troops in the Tigray region, where a devastating two-year war ended in 2022. Researchers at Ghent University, in Belgium, estimated that 500,000 civilians died from violence, famine and the collapse of health services.

Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian forces during the war in Tigray, but recently, Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of supporting the rebels and mobilizing support from Egypt and Sudan. Eritrea, in turn, has accused Ethiopia of seeking access to the sea through its territory.

A separate dispute over Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Nile River has strained relations with Egypt and Sudan, which rely on the river for water.

Representatives of Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia met on Sunday in the Egyptian city of New Alamein and called for cooperation on regional issues. They said governance of the Red Sea was the exclusive responsibility of its coastal states and rejected actions that could affect Egypt’s and Sudan’s use of Nile waters.

Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday that discussions about the Nile and Red Sea must account for geographic realities, noting that the Blue Nile originates in Ethiopia and that the country lies close to the Red Sea.

The ministry said Ethiopia remained committed to dialogue and peaceful engagement with its neighbors while defending its sovereignty and national interests.

The latest tensions also follow the expulsion of an Egyptian diplomat, who was declared persona non grata.

The United Nations and the African Union have expressed concern over the rising tensions and called for a peaceful resolution.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed raises his hand as he is sworn in during a session of the Ethiopian Parliament in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (Ethiopian Prime Minster's Office via AP)

Members of the parliament stand during the national anthem at a session of the Ethiopian Parliament in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (Ethiopian Prime Minster's Office via AP)

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks during a session of the Ethiopian Parliament in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (Ethiopian Prime Minster's Office via AP)

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed speaks during a session of the Ethiopian Parliament in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (Ethiopian Prime Minster's Office via AP)

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 5, 2026--

Xsolla, a global commerce company, today announced it will be showcasing new channels for brands to engage with video game players, studios, and developers in New York City during Ad Week. Xsolla Connect NYC 2026 will bring together brands, studios, partners, and developers to discuss all the things to create direct-to-consumer experiences through video games. The Xsolla team will be active throughout Advertising Week New York 2026, October 5 to 8. Brands, studios, and developers will be joining the discussion around the new industry report focused on brands and games in Xsolla's Holiday Video Games and Commerce ebook.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261005988220/en/

Video games are one of the largest categories of entertainment spending in the world, yet most brands still treat the category as an experiment: a one-off promotional stunt or a single media buy, not a lasting engagement program. The traditional formats brands default to were never built for players. Interstitial pop-ups disrupt gameplay, banner ads go unnoticed, and in-game activations remain cumbersome and expensive to execute.

At Xsolla Connect NYC, Xsolla will make the case for a different way for brands to reach players:

The relationship between players and games is built on the commerce infrastructure behind more than 6,500 games trusted by more than 70% of the top 100 highest-grossing games. The foundational infrastructure gives Xsolla insights into how players spend, what they value, and when they are most open to a brand. These signals come from real transactions, not modeled audiences borrowed from someone else's platform, and Xsolla uses them to connect brands with games. With branded quests, players are rewarded with a brand's product for hitting a milestone they actually care about, such as beating level 50 or dealing 50,000 points of damage. The brand adds value to the game rather than taking attention away. Xsolla calls this approach Rewarded Marketing.

"Brands have spent years trying to get players' attention by interrupting them," said Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla. "When a brand's product is the item a player claims, the brand becomes part of the win instead of the thing standing in the way of it. Advertising Week is where the people who decide brand budgets gather, and we're bringing them a model that puts their product inside the moments players care about most."

Xsolla Connect NYC takes place on October 5 during Advertising Week New York. The full Holiday Video Games and Commerce ebook follows in mid-October.

For more information about Xsolla Connect NYC and the Holiday Video Games and Commerce ebook, visit: https://xsolla.pro/Advertising-Week-2026

About Xsolla

Xsolla is a global commerce company that builds and provides all the things developers need to launch, grow, and monetize video games. Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, the company supports studios of every size, from indie to AAA, with solutions across direct-to-consumer commerce, intelligent payments, entertainment-based IP, and player engagement products. Xsolla helps developers fund, distribute, market, and monetize their games at scale. Trusted by more than 70% of the top 100 highest-grossing games, Xsolla operates as the merchant of record across 200+ geographies with access to 1,000+ local payment methods worldwide. Grounded in a deep belief in the future of gaming, Xsolla is resolute in bringing opportunities together and unlocking growth for creators everywhere.

For more information, visit xsolla.com

© 2026 Xsolla. All rights reserved.

Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla

Graphic: Xsolla