Policies

This statement identifies the principal policies that the Government will pursue during its five-year term. It is intended to guide executive action, legislative proposals, budgeting and public evaluation of the Government’s performance. Annual implementation plans will identify responsible institutions, deadlines, required appropriations and measurable results.

1. Constitutional and democratic institutions

The first priority is to respect and support the independent operation of Eritrea’s constitutional and democratic institutions. The Presidency recognizes that institutions outside the Executive branch derive their authority from the Constitution and the law and are not subordinate to the President.

During the first year, the Government will consult the relevant institutions and submit legislation within the Executive’s competence necessary to establish or strengthen the National Assembly, the judiciary, the Advocate General, the Auditor General, the Judicial Service Commission, the Civil Service Administration, the Electoral Commission and the National Bank of Eritrea. Where another institution holds constitutional or statutory initiative, administrative or rule-making authority, the Presidency will offer technical, legislative, administrative or budgetary assistance only as the law permits and as that institution considers useful.

At the National Assembly’s request, the Executive will cooperate in securing the staff, research services, records, meeting facilities and budgetary support required for the Assembly to enact legislation and oversee the Executive. Decisions about the Assembly’s internal administration, proceedings and lawful spending remain with the Assembly. The Presidency supports publication of draft laws, enacted laws, committee reports and Assembly proceedings, subject only to lawful and narrowly defined confidentiality requirements. Ministers will provide regular reports and appear before the Assembly and its committees when summoned.

The Presidency will respect the constitutional authority of the Judicial Service Commission and the judiciary. If requested, Executive institutions will assist with reopening and staffing courts, reducing case backlogs, publishing procedures, improving access to records and establishing reliable case-assignment and tracking systems. Decisions on judicial administration and on judicial recruitment, appointment, evaluation and discipline remain with the competent judicial institutions.

The Presidency will seek and respect the Advocate General’s independent legal advice on draft executive legislation and other matters within that office’s mandate. Ministries will provide the information and cooperation required for the Advocate General to advise them and represent the State in legal proceedings. No executive regulation or agency rule will be published without confirmation that the issuing institution has identified its constitutional or statutory authority.

Executive ministries and agencies will provide the Auditor General with access to public accounts, contracts, borrowing records, inventories and expenditure information and will cooperate with lawful audits. The Auditor General will determine audit priorities and findings independently. Annual audit reports will be submitted to the National Assembly and made public, except for narrowly justified protected information.

The Presidency will respect the independent authority of the Electoral Commission. At the Commission’s request, Executive institutions may provide lawful technical, logistical and budgetary cooperation for voter registration, constituency administration, election administration and civic education without directing the Commission’s decisions. Election timing and administration will be determined under the Constitution and applicable law by the competent institutions, not by unilateral presidential direction.

2. Professional and accountable public administration

The Government will implement the principle that public institutions exist to serve the population. Recruitment and promotion in the civil service will progressively move toward open competition, merit, relevant qualifications and documented performance.

Every ministry and executive agency will publish its legal mandate, organizational structure, responsible offices, contact information, forms, requirements, lawful fees, ordinary processing periods and available complaint procedures.

The Digitalization of Executive Services Regulations, 2026, require ministries and executive agencies to test and introduce electronic services by 1 January 2027. Initial implementation will concentrate on high-volume services involving identity documents, immigration, business registration, taxation, customs, licensing, land and construction, employment, education and health.

Digital services will permit citizens, where legally possible, to obtain information, submit applications, provide documents, pay authorized fees, track applications and receive decisions without unnecessary attendance at government offices. Physical and assisted services will remain available for persons who cannot use electronic systems.

Each agency will measure waiting periods, processing times, unresolved applications and complaints. Persistent delay will require a written corrective plan. Administrative decisions affecting rights or interests must identify the responsible authority, state the legal basis and provide reasons and information about available review.

3. Completion of national service and civilian reintegration

The statutory period of national service will be limited to eighteen months. Persons who have completed that period will be released in accordance with the National Service Completion, Release and Civilian Transition Executive Regulations.

Government institutions will identify personnel whose work remains necessary. Continued service after the statutory period will be voluntary and governed by the Civil Service Administration Act. Necessary personnel may be offered regular public employment with defined duties, employment records and appropriate compensation.

Released personnel will initially continue receiving transitional pocket money for the period authorized by the applicable Regulations and budget. The Government will establish registration and referral systems connecting them with vocational training, apprenticeships, employers, financing programs and available land or housing initiatives.

Training will prioritize construction, electrical installation, plumbing, welding, carpentry, machinery operation, vehicle repair, commercial agriculture, fisheries, logistics, bookkeeping and basic digital skills. Government training centers will work with private employers, professional associations, educational institutions and qualified Eritreans abroad.

The Government will not claim that employment can be created immediately for every released person. Its responsibility is to remove unnecessary restrictions, support training, facilitate investment and publish accurate information about available opportunities.

4. Housing, construction and immediate employment

Housing and construction will provide the principal short-term source of employment during the first phase of economic recovery.

The Government will simplify and publish procedures governing land allocation, building permits, property registration, utility connections and importation of construction materials. Applicable requirements and fees will be established by law and administered consistently.

Diaspora Eritreans will be encouraged to build residential homes for themselves and their families. Domestic investors, cooperatives and properly constituted companies will also be encouraged to develop housing, workshops, shops, warehouses and small commercial buildings.

Preference may be provided under published criteria to projects that employ and train persons released from national service, use locally produced materials or construct affordable housing.

The Government will identify barriers to domestic production of cement, stone, blocks, metal products, doors, windows, furniture and other construction inputs. Where commercially feasible, private production will be preferred to direct government operation.

Construction is intended as an initial source of employment, not as the permanent basis of the economy. During the five-year term, policy will progressively move toward manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries, logistics, tourism, energy and professional services.

5. Diaspora investment and participation

The Government will establish a single information and facilitation service for Eritreans abroad seeking to invest, establish a company, acquire lawful interests in property or build a home.

Diaspora investors will receive the same legal protections available to other investors. No Eritrean will be required to invest, contribute money or pay an unauthorized charge because that person lives abroad.

The Government will encourage diaspora Eritreans to form limited liability companies, share companies, cooperatives and investment funds through which resources can be pooled. It will also welcome reputable non-Eritrean partners introduced by diaspora investors.

Priority areas will include housing, construction materials, food production and processing, fisheries, transportation, communications, hospitality, financial services, renewable energy, professional services and small manufacturing.

Investment incentives will be established by legislation or regulations made under express statutory authority. Eligibility criteria, duration and fiscal cost will be published. Discretionary and unpublished exemptions will be discontinued.

6. Commercial, investment and financial reform

The Government will submit a modern Commercial Code, Maritime Code and related legislation governing companies, partnerships, secured transactions, insolvency, electronic commerce and corporate governance.

Investment legislation will establish transparent entry requirements, protection of property, lawful repatriation of profits, enforceable contracts, access to courts and procedures for resolving disputes. Expropriation may occur only for a lawful public purpose, through due process and upon payment of just compensation.

The National Bank of Eritrea will develop a program for licensing and supervising banks and other financial institutions, modernizing payment systems and expanding access to savings and credit. Its monetary and regulatory decisions will be made through its legally established institutions rather than through informal presidential instructions.

Currency exchange will progressively operate through a lawful and transparent market system. The Government will not use compulsory exchange rates to confiscate a substantial part of the value of privately owned foreign currency.

Tax reform will seek a broad base, reasonable rates, simple administration and predictable enforcement. Taxation will be enacted by the National Assembly. Executive institutions will not impose charges that function as taxes without legislative authority.

Customs procedures will be simplified and digitalized. Tariffs, documentation requirements, exemptions and processing periods will be published. Trade restrictions will be reviewed and retained only where they serve a legitimate and proportionate public purpose.

7. Productive investment and employment

The Government will seek continental and international investment that creates employment, develops skills, expands exports or provides goods and services required domestically.

Priority will be given to small and medium-sized enterprises because they can be established more quickly and distribute employment more widely. Large investments will be evaluated according to their effect on public revenue, employment, technology transfer, the environment, local communities and national economic security.

The ports of Massawa and Assab, related roads, warehouses and customs facilities will be improved in phases. Port development will support Eritrean trade and lawful regional commerce while remaining under Eritrean sovereignty.

Agricultural policy will concentrate on irrigation, water management, improved inputs, storage, processing and access to markets. Fisheries policy will address licensing, preservation, transport, domestic processing and protection against unlawful exploitation.

Mining contracts will be published to the extent consistent with legitimate commercial confidentiality. Licensing, revenue, environmental obligations and community effects will be subject to legal and financial oversight.

The Government will maintain an investment-law review program and study relevant experience from other African countries, small economies and countries with substantial diaspora populations. Foreign models will be adopted only after determining their suitability for Eritrea.

8. Defense and security reform

Eritrea will develop a smaller, professional and politically neutral defense force. Its function will be to protect the country, its population, its territory and the constitutional order.

Military personnel will serve under legislation defining recruitment, terms of service, command authority, discipline, compensation, retirement and civilian oversight. Indefinite conscription will not be used to maintain force size.

The military will not administer civilian ministries, control political organizations or operate commercial enterprises except where expressly authorized by law for a limited defense purpose. Military expenditure and procurement will be subject to lawful budgeting and appropriate audit.

Training will include constitutional obligations, civilian authority, international humanitarian law, human rights and professional military conduct. Promotion will be based upon competence, conduct and operational need.

The police and domestic security institutions will be regulated separately from the military. Their powers of arrest, search, detention, investigation and surveillance must be established by law and subject to judicial control.

9. Regional and international relations

Eritrea will pursue peaceful and cooperative relations with Ethiopia, Sudan, Djibouti and other countries in the region. It will respect their sovereignty and territorial integrity and expect equivalent treatment.

Disputes will be addressed through diplomacy, negotiation, mediation, arbitration or judicial settlement. Eritrea will not support armed proxies or permit its territory to be used to destabilize another country.

The Government will seek practical agreements on trade, transportation, port services, energy, migration, border administration, environmental protection and suppression of trafficking and organized crime.

Regional economic arrangements will be evaluated according to their legal terms and their benefits to Eritrea. International agreements requiring ratification will be presented to the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution.

Eritrea will restore regular cooperation with African and international institutions and comply with lawful reporting and financial obligations. International engagement will be used to support institutional development, training, infrastructure and economic recovery without surrendering national decision-making authority.

10. Implementation, budgeting and public reporting

Within ninety days, every ministry will submit an implementation plan identifying the measures for which it is responsible, necessary legislation, estimated cost, proposed funding and annual targets.

The Ministry responsible for finance will prepare a consolidated five-year fiscal framework. Programs without an identified legal basis or realistic source of funding will not be treated as approved commitments.

Each annual budget will identify expenditure connected to these priorities. Government borrowing will require approval by the National Assembly and publication of the material terms, subject to legitimate and narrowly defined confidentiality.

The President will report annually to the National Assembly on progress. The report will identify completed measures, delayed measures, expenditures, results and proposed corrections. Ministries will publish supporting performance information.

The Government will review the five-year program at the end of the second year. Policies that have failed or become impracticable will be revised openly. The review will not be used to conceal missed commitments or replace measurable targets with general statements.

At the end of the five-year term, the Government’s performance will be assessed primarily by:

1. whether the principal constitutional institutions are operational and independent;
2. whether legislation and public expenditure are subject to effective National Assembly oversight;
3. whether courts are accessible and resolving cases within more reasonable periods;
4. whether executive services are transparent, digitalized and substantially faster;
5. whether national service is limited to eighteen months;
6. whether released personnel are entering civilian employment and training;
7. whether private, diaspora and foreign investment has increased;
8. whether housing, productive enterprise and formal employment have expanded;
9. whether monetary, banking, taxation and customs administration are functioning under published law;
10. whether the defense forces are smaller, professional and subject to civilian constitutional authority; and
11. whether Eritrea’s relations with neighboring countries are peaceful and economically productive.

These are the Government’s priorities for the five-year term. They will be implemented through legislation, lawful executive action, annual budgets and public reporting.