Abiy Ahmed arrived Saturday and was greeted planeside by Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. They later attended an honour guard ceremony and held meetings, according to the Emirates' state-run WAM news agency.

The Tigray war has been raging since November 2020. The war has shifted in recent weeks, with the Tigray forces retreating into their region after attempting to advance on the capital, Addis Ababa, and Ethiopia's military said it would not pursue them further. That opened the way for fresh mediation efforts by the United States and the African Union, with humanitarian access a key goal.

Ethiopia's government has sought to restrict reporting on the war and detained some journalists under the state of emergency, including a video freelancer accredited to The Associated Press, Amir Aman Kiyaro.

Experts say the Ethiopian government's military appears to have been strengthened by aerial drones purchased from China, Turkey and the UAE.