Ethiopia Positions Regional Integration as a Driver of Shared African Prosperity

Addis Ababa, September 24, 2026 (FMC) — Ethiopia is advancing regional integration through infrastructure, trade, energy and people-to-people ties, positioning its growing national capabilities as drivers of shared prosperity across Africa, President Taye Atske-Selassie told the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

Addressing the General Assembly in New York, President Taye said Ethiopia has diligently worked to promote cooperation and regional integration through infrastructure development, trade and people-to-people relations across Africa, achieving notable progress with several neighboring countries.

Energy, he said, represents a major pillar of this regional development vision. With an estimated clean-energy potential of 60,000 megawatts, Ethiopia is targeting 13,000 megawatts of generation capacity by 2030, with ambitions to expand energy supply across East Africa and beyond.

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), he said, stands as a “monumental pan-African clean energy project,” demonstrating how shared waters and resources can generate progress and development for collective regional prosperity.

Connectivity and trade constitute another major dimension of Ethiopia’s regional integration drive. President Taye said the government is investing US$12.5 billion in a new international airport that will ultimately handle 110 million passengers and about 4 million tons of cargo annually.

“This project will play a catalytic role in the African continental free trade area,” he said, underscoring the strategic connection between Ethiopia’s expanding transport infrastructure and the continent’s drive toward deeper economic integration.

The project, Bishoftu International Airport, is being developed by Ethiopian Airlines Group as a major new aviation gateway, with its scale expected to significantly expand Ethiopia’s passenger and cargo-handling capacity and strengthen connections between African markets and the wider world.

The airport’s projected role also aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, particularly its flagship projects, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM). AfCFTA seeks to deepen intra-African trade through a single continental market, while SAATM is designed to strengthen air connectivity and establish a unified African air transport market.

President Taye also highlighted food security as an important dimension of Ethiopia’s contribution to regional resilience. He said the country has transitioned from a wheat importer to one of Africa’s major wheat producers through the adoption of climate-resilient wheat varieties.

“At a time where food provision has become a political battleground and the global food supply hangs precariously in the balance, we send a clear message that Africa can feed itself,” he said.

President Taye linked these advances to Ethiopia’s broader development trajectory, saying the country is seeking to sustain and scale up achievements in renewable energy, connectivity, food security, manufacturing and urban development.

To consolidate these gains and deepen their regional impact, he called for “genuine and sustained regional and international cooperation,” placing partnership at the center of Ethiopia’s vision for infrastructure-led integration and shared African prosperity.