Eritrea on Monday reopened its embassy in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa. That further deepens fresh efforts at restoring peace between the two nations.
The brief ceremony for the reopening of the embassy was witnessed by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki.
The embassy was closed since 1998. The two leaders jointly raised the Eritrean flag inside a newly refurbished embassy.
A military band played Eritrea’s anthem and then the two leaders toured the building.
Eritrea’s president, Isaias Afwerki made a historic visit to Ethiopia on Saturday after both countries ended their “state of war”.
The visit is to finally cement engagements that have taken place to restore peace between the two nations.
Prime Minister Ahmed also paid a visit to Eritrea last week where series of agreements were made to restore diplomatic ties.
Nearly after 2 decades, Eritrea reopens its Embassy in #AddisAbaba in the presence of the two leaders. The full normalization of the relations bn #Ethiopia & #Eritrea will create the ideal conditions to address remaining strategic issues in the shared interest of the two nations. pic.twitter.com/GE4Yf00qVI
— Fitsum Arega (@fitsumaregaa) July 16, 2018
Restoration of diplomatic and trade ties
Ethiopia and Eritrea restored diplomatic and trade ties last week after peace talks in Eritrea’s capital.
Ethiopian officials say direct international telephone connections have been restored between the two countries.
The restoration is “for the first time after two decades”.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war from 1998 to 2000 that killed an estimated 70,000 people from both sides.
A peace accord dubbed the Algiers agreement was signed on December 12, 2000.
Despite the peace agreement a tense armed standoff ensued with the two countries engaging in clashes occasionally.
Source: Africafeeds.com
