Ethiopia needs a reliable seaport and a navy

In order to secure its economic future, Eastern Africa's wobbly giant must overcome the landlockedness penalty.

I: The largest landlocked country in the world

I have always found it puzzling that, in negotiating the potential future independence of Eritrea, Meles Zenawi and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) did not put up a spirited fight to lock in direct ownership of a port on the Red Sea. Throughout the war to dislodge the Derg from power, the TPLF ne…