Addis Ababa, December 5, 2025 (FMC) – Ethiopia can spearhead regional economic integration in East Africa by leveraging its growing economy and focusing on poverty reduction, the American political and economic analyst Laurence Freeman said.
With about 120 million people, Ethiopia has the potential to use its economic growth to spread integration to the rest of the region and raise the standard of living in neighboring countries, he added.
In this regard, the progress Ethiopia and Somalia made recently should be elevated to a higher level of regional economic integration to improve the lives of the people in these countries and the region, Freeman stated.
Following the Ankara agreement, the two East African nations have been improving their partnership through discussion between high level officials of the countries and exchange of visits.
According to the analyst, the developments in Ethio-Somalia relations, including high-level meetings and diplomatic exchanges, have significantly reduced the risk of conflict, which some external actors had been actively trying to instigate.
“The progress that has been made over the last few months is very important. I think it has to be developed even further. For most of 2024, there were many political actors and countries involved in trying to instigate a military conflict between Ethiopia and Somalia.”
Fortunately, the leaders of the two countries agreed to resolve the misunderstanding peacefully and the Ankara agreement was realized.
“So I’m hopeful that all these latest developments will put to rest the idea that the two neighboring nations should go to war. I think for the moment, the forces of peace have the upper hand.”
The American analyst noted that Ethiopia has been providing security in Somalia for many years both as part of the African Union force and in the other way to support the fight against Al Shabab.
As “Ethiopians are very well organized army, Somalia has relied on the Ethiopian military forces against the fight of violent extremism. This process should continue and now there are efforts that are being discussed.
But prior to the recent agreements between the leaders of Somalia and Ethiopia there were people calling for the removal of Ethiopia troops from the AU force. This would have been a mistake,” he told local newswire service ENA.
Freeman further stressed the need to prioritize economic integration across the region, encompassing Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and other East African nations.
“Now we have to move to a higher level, and that level means we have to achieve economic integration in the entire region. And this means that these nations should be working together to promote economic growth. The most important issue is raising the standard of living of people living in poverty in these regions.”