File photo. Abiy Ahmed, Ethiopia's prime minister, speaking at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, 2019. Photo: Office of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, public domain, Wikimedia Commons.

ETHIOPIA · POLITICS

Ethiopia’s new government has put a former peace minister in charge of the army and kept the same foreign minister, while Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed presses for a sea outlet on the Red Sea. For US readers, these two men shape how Addis Ababa deals with Washington, Beijing and its neighbours.

Parliament approved the cabinet on Thursday 8 October 2026. Our full list of Ethiopia’s ministers has every name, and our guides explain what the posts can decide and what the economic team means for investors.

What Happened

Ethiopia’s House of Peoples’ Representatives, the elected lower house of parliament, unanimously approved Abiy’s nominees on Thursday 8 October 2026. The list has Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh and 22 ministers.

Mohamed Idris, who had been Minister of Peace since November 2024, now leads the Ministry of Defence. Musa Adem now leads the Ministry of Peace.

File photo: members of Ethiopia’s House of Peoples’ Representatives vote by raising their hands in the parliament hall in Addis Ababa; the date of the photo is unknown. Photo: Wikimedia Commons (public domain).

Who Now Runs the Army

Idris spoke at the 119th Defence Forces Day ceremony in Addis Ababa on Sunday 25 October 2026, held under the theme “Army of Victory”. He called the national army a pillar of public confidence and a shield for the country in difficult times.

Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, the army’s chief of general staff, attended the ceremony along with foreign military attachés and diplomats. The ceremony took place at the Armed Forces General Headquarters.

On Tuesday 3 November 2026 Idris met China’s ambassador to Ethiopia, Chen Hai, in Addis Ababa. They agreed to deepen military ties and discussed cooperation on the defence industry, technology transfer and training, but no signed deal or sum was announced.

Who Speaks for Ethiopia Abroad

Gedion Timothewos keeps the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, so Ethiopia’s diplomatic line is unchanged. On Monday 5 October 2026 Abiy repeated that landlocked Ethiopia must have access to the Red Sea.

Eritrea, the neighbour to the north that holds the Red Sea coast, has rejected the claim. On 9 October 2026 its information minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, accused Ethiopia of an “unprovoked war of aggression” and of wanting the port of Assab.

Habtamu Itefa, the minister of water and energy, oversees the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, Africa’s largest hydropower project, on the Nile. Egypt and Sudan, which depend on the river, dispute how Ethiopia runs the dam.

The Washington Connection

Gedion met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington on Monday 11 May 2026, during the US-Ethiopia Bilateral Structured Dialogue, a formal framework for talks between the two governments. Rubio said they discussed expanding the security partnership and increasing commercial opportunities between the two nations.

Ethiopia has been excluded since 1 January 2022 from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the US programme that gives African exports duty-free access. Restoring it needs a separate decision by the US administration, and none has been announced as of 9 November 2026.

The US State Department rates Ethiopia Level 3, Reconsider Travel. The US Embassy’s security alerts of October and November 2026 tell Americans not to travel to the northern Amhara, Tigray and Afar regions, and our travel guide for Americans has the details.

What Prediction Markets Say

Polymarket, a prediction market where users bet real money, gives about 13% for Eritrea invading Ethiopia by 31 December 2026, in a market with US$123,462 traded across all deadlines. The figure was read on 9 November 2026 at 3:20 a.m. Eastern Time.

These prices are bets, not polls or forecasts by officials. Our Ethiopia geopolitics guide covers the neighbours behind them.

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What It Means for You

For US investors, Ethiopia is a frontier market where the defence and foreign ministers help set the risk, since a clash with Eritrea would threaten the region’s trade routes. Finance Minister Fitsum Assefa’s team matters more for debt and tax questions.

Travellers should follow the US Embassy alerts and avoid the three northern regions, because the cabinet change does not alter the Level 3 rating. Companies hoping for AGOA access should expect no quick change, since that decision sits in Washington.

What Is Not Known

It is not known whether Idris will change military policy, because the government has announced no new defence strategy. It is also unclear whether the talks with China will lead to signed deals.

No US decision on Ethiopia’s AGOA status has been announced. Whether the Red Sea dispute with Eritrea stays diplomatic is also open.

More: Africa news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Is Ethiopia’s New Defence Minister?

Mohamed Idris, who had been Minister of Peace since November 2024. Parliament approved him on Thursday 8 October 2026.

Who Is Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister?

Gedion Timothewos kept the post in the cabinet approved on 8 October 2026. He met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 11 May 2026.

Is Ethiopia Safe for American Travellers?

The US rates Ethiopia Level 3, Reconsider Travel, on the State Department scale. The US Embassy advises against travel to the northern Amhara, Tigray and Afar regions.

Can Ethiopia Export Duty-Free to the US?

No. Ethiopia has been excluded from the AGOA trade programme since 1 January 2022, and no restoration has been announced.

Sources: Ethiopian House of Peoples’ Representatives, approval of the Council of Ministers, 8 October 2026; Ethiopian defence minister, speech at Defence Forces Day, 25 October 2026, and meeting with the Chinese ambassador, 3 November 2026; Ethiopian prime minister, statement on Red Sea access, 5 October 2026; US State Department, readout of Secretary Rubio’s meeting with the Ethiopian foreign minister, May 2026; US Embassy in Addis Ababa, security alert, 4 November 2026; Polymarket market data, 9 November 2026.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error