Abiy's vision of Ethiopia includes a seaport in Eritrea. Some see a looming conflict

Ethiopia’s prime minister sees himself as a renaissance man trying to reimagine the old greatness of his country

KAMPALA, Uganda -- To his supporters, Ethiopia's prime minister is a renaissance man trying to reimagine the old greatness of his country.

To some others, Abiy Ahmed is a provocateur who could light a fire in the restive Horn of Africa region as he pushes for sovereign access to the sea via an unfriendly neighbor.

In a stadium in southern Ethiopia last Sunday, Abiy staged a provocative parade of Ethiopia’s special forces as they demonstrated maneuvers in a spectacle widely seen as intended for neighboring Eritrea to see. A banner proclaimed Ethiopia would not remain landlocked whether "you like it or not,” with imagery showing a soldier breaking a door while aiming for the port of Assab.

Assab has been part of Eritrea since 1993, when it broke away from Ethiopia after decades of guerrilla warfare. Most of Ethiopia’s trade goes through the port of Djibouti, incurring high fees to the tune of $1.5 billion per year, a sum until recently greater than the country's entire foreign exchange reserves, according to the London-based Africa Practice consulting firm.

It's one reason Abiy sought a controversial deal for sea access with Somaliland two years ago. That deal angered Somalia, which claims authority over the semiautonomous Somaliland, and raised regional tensions.