Addis Ababa, October 24, 2026 (FMC) — Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has placed accountability, institutional effectiveness and tangible economic and social progress at the center of Africa’s pursuit of lasting peace, emphasizing that political agreements can deliver stability only when parties honor their commitments and communities experience meaningful improvements in their lives.
Addressing the 12th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa in Bahir Dar, Abiy described peace as a process that extends beyond the signing of agreements to encompass political responsibility, functioning institutions, public services and sustainable livelihoods.
“An agreement is where peace begins. Peace holds when parties honor their commitments,” he said, highlighting the importance of implementation in African-led mediation and peace processes.
The Prime Minister situated Africa’s security challenges within a changing geopolitical and economic environment in which decisions taken beyond the continent’s borders affect citizens through the cost of essential goods, economic prospects and security.
He said strengthening resilience requires solutions grounded in African realities and closer cooperation among countries.
Ethiopia’s experience, he noted, reflects the connection between political stability and institutional responsibility. Abiy identified protecting civilians and upholding the constitutional order as fundamental duties, while maintaining space for peaceful political dialogue.
He also highlighted the National Dialogue, whose recommendations have been submitted to parliament and regional governments, as an ongoing process that must advance toward practical decisions and implementation.
Beyond political settlements, the Prime Minister emphasized the need for peace to improve everyday life. Sustainable livelihoods for families and the effective delivery of essential services by local administrations are critical to ensuring that stability translates into lasting prosperity.
He extended this institutional focus to the African Union and regional organizations, pointing to the importance of professional staffing, equitable representation across Africa, adequate authority and predictable financing. His remarks highlighted a central challenge for continental cooperation: ensuring that African institutions have the capacity and resources to fulfil the responsibilities entrusted to them.
Abiy also connected peace and security to the pressures created by climate change and economic vulnerability. Drought and the loss of livelihoods can intensify competition over land and water, while illicit networks can finance violence. Climate resilience, effective enforcement and economic participation therefore form part of the wider conditions needed to sustain stability.
Regional connectivity and trade also featured in his assessment of Africa’s shared interests. Transport corridors can link producers to markets and support communities along their routes, while more accessible border crossings can help small traders enter the formal economy.
These measures can strengthen economic ties while giving regional cooperation practical benefits.
The Prime Minister drew on Ethiopia’s traditional practice of *shemgelina*, or mediation by elders, to illustrate the role of trust and commitments in resolving disputes.
He linked this tradition to Medemer, the philosophy of combining capacities to achieve shared goals, and emphasized that cooperation becomes meaningful when countries can rely on one another to honour their promises.
Concluding his address, Abiy called for commitments that African countries could depend on, placing the credibility of peace efforts in the actions that follow declarations and agreements. His remarks framed lasting stability as the outcome of accountable leadership, institutions capable of delivering and sustained progress that makes peace meaningful to citizens across the continent.