ADDIS ABABA - A call by Ethiopia’s prime minister for his country to regain access to the Red Sea after a 30-year hiatus has sparked fears that the issue could destabilize the Horn of Africa.

Ethiopia lost direct access to the sea in 1993 when Eritrea seceded from it after a war that lasted three decades. Eritrea’s port at Massawa (pictured) is the largest natural deepwater port on the Red Sea and handles goods coming from neighbors including Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last week called for a discussion about reopening access, arguing that his request was based on “historical, geographical, ethnic and economic grounds”. He said the lack of access was “a potential source of future conflict”.

Eritrea called the surprise request “excessive,” adding that it had “perplexed all concerned observers”. Somalia, which also rejected Abiy’s request, said the issue is “not open for discussion”. There is now fear that such an aggressive demand from Ethiopia might escalate into a regional war.

Ethiopia has relied on the ports of Djibouti for various imports and exports since it lost control of the strategically important sea in 1993, becoming one of Africa’s largest landlocked nations. An aid-dependent nation with an expanding economy, the inability to access the Red Sea and the accumulated cost of using the Djibouti port, along with recurring conflicts, have derailed its plans to become a middle-income nation by 2025.

“There is a great deal that links and unites the people of the Horn of Africa. There is no reason why — through diplomacy and consensus — its nations could not be united. The European Union has achieved this, even though it has been no easy task”, Martin Plaut, senior research fellow at the University of London said.