Addis Ababa, October 21, 2026 (FMC) — Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has laid bare the stark contrast between Eritrea’s promise of becoming “Africa’s Singapore” after independence and the economic decline that has engulfed the country over the past three decades, pointing to the collapse of industrial activity, the deterioration of once-thriving urban centres and the hardship imposed on its people by the regime in Asmara.
In a recently televised interview in Tigrigna language, Abiy recalled that Eritrea had more than 300 industries when it was part of Ethiopia and that its cities, including Massawa and Assab, served as important economic centres.
Instead of building on that industrial and commercial foundation after independence in 1993, the country has witnessed a prolonged decline that has left its enormous potential unrealized.
The contrast is especially stark when measured against the promise of transforming Eritrea into Africa’s Singapore. That vision suggested a country with thriving industries, modern cities, bustling ports, expanding trade and rising living standards.
Three decades later, the promise has failed to materialize, while Eritrea’s strategic location on the Red Sea remains a resource whose potential has not been fully realized.
PM Abiy described Massawa as having been emptied of much of its former activity and Assab as a ghost town, highlighting the deterioration of cities that should have been driving economic growth.
Their strategic importance should have made them centres of trade, logistics, investment and employment. Instead, their decline reflects the failure to turn Eritrea’s geographical advantages and existing infrastructure into engines of national prosperity.
The country’s predicament extends beyond its ports and industries. Under the regime in Asmara, Eritreans have endured indefinite national service, restrictions on basic freedoms and an absence of meaningful political pluralism.
Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2026 documents the continuation of indefinite national service and the lack of national elections since independence. These conditions have constrained people’s ability to build independent livelihoods and plan their futures.
The consequences reach deep into Eritrean society. Young people who should be developing skills, establishing businesses and contributing to the economy face prolonged compulsory service, while many Eritreans leave the country in search of freedom and opportunities unavailable at home.
The resulting loss of human capital further undermines the country’s capacity to develop its industries and revive its cities.
The regime’s record stands in sharp contrast to the promise of national transformation that accompanied independence. A country cannot become an economic powerhouse while restricting the productive energy of its people, allowing industrial capacity to decline and leaving strategically important cities unable to realize their potential.
Eritrea’s location, ports and industrial history offered a foundation for prosperity.
Massawa and Assab could have expanded trade and generated employment, while Asmara could have continued to develop as a centre of commerce, services and industry. The failure to realize these opportunities has left the country far removed from the future its people were promised.
The comparison with Singapore therefore exposes the scale of Eritrea’s unrealized potential.
Singapore built its success around productive investment, international trade, effective institutions and the development of human capital. Eritrea, by contrast, has remained burdened by political repression, indefinite national service and economic stagnation.
Three decades after independence, the central question is how a country with Eritrea’s strategic advantages, industrial foundations and human potential came to fall so far short of its promised future.
PM Abiy’s remarks direct attention to the contrast between the country’s former economic vitality and its present condition, challenging the record of a regime that promised transformation but has failed to deliver the prosperity Eritreans were led to expect.
Eritrea’s people fought for independence with the expectation of building a better future. They deserved thriving cities, productive industries, economic opportunity and the freedom to shape their own lives. Instead, the promise of “Africa’s Singapore” has become a stark reminder of the distance between the regime’s grand vision and the reality confronting its citizens.