Ethiopia and Eritrea are no longer at war, the neighbours said in a joint statement Monday, a day after their leaders held a historic meeting in Asmara.

Quoting from a "Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship," Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said on Twitter the "state of war that existed between the two countries has come to an end. A new era of peace and friendship has been ushered (in)."

"Both countries will work to promote close cooperation in political, economic, social, cultural and security areas," Yemane added.

He said the agreement was signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Monday morning at state house in Asmara.

Images of the ceremony showed the two men sharing a wooden desk, backed by their nations' flags, as they simultaneously signed the document.

The declaration echoed comments made by Abiy at a dinner hosted by Isaias late Sunday, where he said diplomatic, trade, transport and communications ties would be re-established and borders reopened.

Recent weeks of rapid rapprochement are aimed at ending decades of animosity, periods of outright conflict and many years of cold war between the two countries.

The thaw began last month when Abiy said Ethiopia would abide by a 2002 UN-backed ruling, made after a two-year frontier war, and hand back disputed border territory, including the flashpoint town of Badme, to Eritrea.</s>Ethiopia and Eritrea are no longer at war, the neighbours said in a joint statement Monday, a day after their leaders held a historic meeting in Asmara.

Quoting from a “Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship,” Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said on Twitter the “state of war that existed between the two countries has come to an end. A new era of peace and friendship has been ushered (in).”

“Both countries will work to promote close cooperation in political, economic, social, cultural and security areas,” Yemane added.

He said the agreement was signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Monday morning at state house in Asmara.

Images of the ceremony showed the two men sharing a wooden desk, backed by their nations’ flags, as they simultaneously signed the document.

The declaration echoed comments made by Abiy at a dinner hosted by Isaias late Sunday, where he said diplomatic, trade, transport and communications ties would be re-established and borders re-opened.

“We agreed that the airlines will start operating, the ports will be accessible, people can move between the two countries and the embassies will be opened,” Abiy said.

“We will demolish the wall and, with love, build a bridge between the two countries,” he said.

Abiy left Asmara after signing the joint agreement on Monday.

Recent weeks of rapid rapprochement are aimed at ending decades of animosity, periods of outright conflict and many years of cold war between the two countries.

The thaw began last month when Abiy said Ethiopia would abide by a 2002 UN-backed ruling, made after a two-year frontier war, and hand back disputed border territory, including the flashpoint town of Badme, to Eritrea.

The re-establishment of diplomatic and trade ties after years of bitter separation could mean big benefits for both nations, and the wider Horn of Africa region, plagued by conflict and poverty.

Once a province of Ethiopia that comprised its entire coastline on the Red Sea, Eritrea voted to leave in 1993 after a decades-long, bloody independence struggle.

The break rendered Ethiopia landlocked, and the deterioration of relations due to the continuing cold war forced Ethiopia to rely on Djibouti for its sea trade.

Ethiopian access to Eritrea’s ports will be an economic boon for both, as well as posing a challenge to the increasing dominance of Djibouti which had benefitted from importing and exporting the vast majority of goods to Africa’s second-most populous country.

Free movement across the border will also unite, once again, two peoples closely linked by history, language and ethnicity.

Regional leaders welcomed the peace efforts with Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame telling Abiy and Isaias, “We congratulate you and are with you,” in a Twitter statement.

Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta also congratulated the two leaders for, “choosing the path of talking to each other and beginning the journey of friendship.”

Since taking office in April, Abiy has driven whirlwind reforms reversing some of the touchstone policies of the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).

He has released prominent dissidents from jail, announced the partial liberalisation of the economy, admitted the security forces use torture and pursued peace with Eritrea.</s>ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Espousing love between their two countries, the leaders of longtime adversaries Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed Sunday to restore diplomatic relations after nearly 20 years and to open the border between their neighboring Horn of Africa countries.

Ethiopia's reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in Eritrea's capital and was welcomed with hugs and laughter by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, a joyous scene unthinkable just months ago.

After being cheered by crowds in Asmara, Eritrea's capital, and holding private meetings, the two leaders attended a dinner and announced new measures.

"We have agreed to open up embassies in our respective countries, allow our people to visit each other's cities and allow our airlines and ports to operate freely," said Abiy, in comments covered by Eritrean state television.

Abiy said the two leaders have "agreed to bring down the wall between us. Now there is no border between Ethiopia and Eritrea. That border line has gone today with the display of a true love ... love is greater than modern weapons like tanks and missiles. Love can win hearts, and we have seen a great deal of it today here in Asmara. From this time on, war is not an option for the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia. What we need now is love."

The Eritrean leader also effused about the new era of friendly relations between the two countries.

"The Eritrean people have today got the chance to express their true love and emotion for Ethiopians," said Afwerki. "We can imagine that the decisions the prime minister of Ethiopia took was not a simple one. But we can assure you we will face the future together. We will work as one."

Earlier in the day, crowds danced and sang for the leaders, and Asmara's streets were hung with Ethiopian and Eritrean flags. Abiy, 42, and Afwerki, 72, traveled across the capital in a large motorcade as people wearing T-shirts with the images of the leaders cheered. The leaders then met one-on-one, with a smiling Abiy leaning toward Afwerki under a wall hung with their portraits.

Also Sunday, telephone connections were established between the neighboring Horn of Africa countries.

The visit of Ethiopia's prime minister to Asmara comes a month after Abiy surprised people by fully accepting a peace deal that ended a 20-year border war between the two East African nations that killed tens of thousands. Ethiopia and Eritrea have not had diplomatic ties since the war began in 1998, with Abiy himself fighting in a town that remains contested today, and the countries have skirmished since then.

Ethiopians expressed a welcome shock at the meeting, which was shown live by Ethiopia's state TV.

"Historic ... the beginning of the end. The glass ceiling has been broken," one resident, Shewit Wudassie, wrote on Facebook. Another Facebook user, Djphat Su, wrote: "Am I dreaming or what?"

The decision to fully accept the peace deal was the biggest and most surprising reform yet announced by Ethiopia's prime minister, who took office in April and quickly set off a wave of reforms, freeing journalists and opposition figures from prison, opening up the state-run economy and unblocking hundreds of websites after years of anti-government protests demanding more freedoms.

Ethiopia used the visit to announce that the flagship Ethiopian Airlines would soon begin flights to Eritrea, and already Abiy has expressed interest in landlocked Ethiopia having access to Eritrean ports.

While Ethiopia is Africa's second most populous nation, with more than 100 million people, and one of the world's fastest-growing economies, tiny Eritrea, with 5 million people, is one of the world's most closed-off nations, ruled by Afwerki since gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after years of rebel warfare. But the two countries share close cultural ties.

Eritrea has become a major source of migrants fleeing toward Europe, Israel and African nations in recent years as human rights groups criticize its harsh military conscription laws. Observers of the diplomatic thaw have asked whether peace with Ethiopia would lead Eritrea to loosen up and drop its long defensive stance.

"Reconciliation would deprive President Isaias of an excuse for maintaining his country in a permanent state of military readiness" that has blocked Eritrea from developing any form of democracy, said Martin Plaut, author of "Understanding Eritrea" and a senior research fellow with the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London.

Abiy's move broke a long stalemate between Afwerki and the long-dominant Tigrayan party in Ethiopia's ruling coalition. "Abiy represents the majority of Ethiopians rather than the Tigrayan ethnic group" and is not beholden to it, Plaut said, adding that Afwerki accepted the peace gesture "since it allowed him to portray it as a triumph over his Tigrayan rivals."

Not everyone has welcomed Ethiopia's embrace of the peace deal, with some residents in the northern Tigray region bordering Eritrea holding protests.</s>, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jul 9 – Ethiopia and Eritrea are no longer at war, the neighbours said in a joint statement Monday, a day after their leaders held a historic meeting in Asmara.

Quoting from a “Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship,” Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said on Twitter the “state of war that existed between the two countries has come to an end. A new era of peace and friendship has been ushered (in).”

“Both countries will work to promote close cooperation in political, economic, social, cultural and security areas,” Yemane added.

He said the agreement was signed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Monday morning at state house in Asmara.

Images of the ceremony showed the two men sharing a wooden desk, backed by their nations’ flags, as they simultaneously signed the document.

The declaration echoed comments made by Abiy at a dinner hosted by Isaias late Sunday, where he said diplomatic, trade, transport and communications ties would be re-established and borders reopened.

Recent weeks of rapid rapprochement are aimed at ending decades of animosity, periods of outright conflict and many years of cold war between the two countries.

The thaw began last month when Abiy said Ethiopia would abide by a 2002 UN-backed ruling, made after a two-year frontier war, and hand back disputed border territory, including the flashpoint town of Badme, to Eritrea.</s>ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders formally restored relations Monday, ending 20 years of enmity, and citizens from both counties immediately began phoning each other to get back in touch.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, 42, and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, 72, also signed agreements to open embassies in their respective capitals, restore flight services and use port facilities in Eritrea. The signing took place in Eritrea's capital, Asmara, before Abiy flew back to Ethiopia.

"Received the first call from Asmara in Eritrea!" exclaimed Ermiyas Teklu in Ethiopia, after speaking to his uncle and his family after more than two decades. "The last time I talked to them was when I was in a third country. My mother is going to talk to our relatives in Eritrea and everyone is excited about it."

Many Ethiopians expressed their exhilaration on social media and changed their profile pictures to a photo of the Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders embracing, taken on Sunday.

Ethiopia's reformist prime minister flew to Eritrea on Sunday was welcomed with hugs and laughter by Afwerki, a joyous scene unthinkable just months ago. The two leaders spoke of love between their countries and announced the end of the longstanding border war.

"The events of these past two days between Ethiopia and Eritrea are like the fall of the Berlin Wall. Only amplified 1,000 times . physical structures were the only things between us. We were never separated in spirit," Samson Haileyesus wrote on Facebook.

The regional bloc known for mediating South Sudan's ongoing peace talks, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, lauded the dramatic diplomatic breakthrough between Ethiopia and Eritrea and praised Abiy for "wise and courageous leadership in ... normalizing relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea."

It also said it looks forward to Eritrea rejoining the regional bloc and "taking its rightful place of collectively advancing peace and development in our region." Eritrea left the regional group a decade ago when accused the bloc of serving Ethiopia's interests.

"The normalization of relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea and the resolution of the border issue will undoubtedly benefit the people of the two countries and would contribute to the realization of our shared aspiration of peace and economic integration of our region and indeed the continent of Africa," the bloc said.

Upon his return to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's leader is scheduled to meet with visiting U.N. Chief Antonio Guterres.</s>Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders formally restored relations Monday, ending 20 years of enmity, and citizens from both counties immediately began phoning each other to get back in touch.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, 42, and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, 72, also signed agreements to open embassies in their respective capitals, restore flight services and use port facilities in Eritrea. The signing took place in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara, before Abiy flew back to Ethiopia.

“Received the first call from Asmara in Eritrea!” exclaimed Ermiyas Teklu in Ethiopia, after speaking to his uncle and his family after more than two decades. “The last time I talked to them was when I was in a third country. My mother is going to talk to our relatives in Eritrea and everyone is excited about it.”

Many Ethiopians expressed their exhilaration on social media and changed their profile pictures to a photo of the Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders embracing, taken on Sunday.

Ethiopia’s reformist prime minister flew to Eritrea on Sunday was welcomed with hugs and laughter by Afwerki, a joyous scene unthinkable just months ago. The two leaders spoke of love between their countries and announced the end of the longstanding border war.

“The events of these past two days between Ethiopia and Eritrea are like the fall of the Berlin Wall. Only amplified 1,000 times . physical structures were the only things between us. We were never separated in spirit,” Samson Haileyesus wrote on Facebook.

The regional bloc known for mediating South Sudan’s ongoing peace talks, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, lauded the dramatic diplomatic breakthrough between Ethiopia and Eritrea and praised Abiy for “wise and courageous leadership in … normalizing relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea.”

It also said it looks forward to Eritrea rejoining the regional bloc and “taking its rightful place of collectively advancing peace and development in our region.” Eritrea left the regional group a decade ago when accused the bloc of serving Ethiopia’s interests.

“The normalization of relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea and the resolution of the border issue will undoubtedly benefit the people of the two countries and would contribute to the realization of our shared aspiration of peace and economic integration of our region and indeed the continent of Africa,” the bloc said.

Upon his return to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s leader is scheduled to meet with visiting U.N. Chief Antonio Guterres.</s>JOHANNESBURG, July 9 (Reuters) - After declaring an end on Monday to a costly two-decade military stalemate, Ethiopia and Eritrea - one a rising African star, the other among the world's most isolationist nations - appear poised to reap a lucrative peace dividend.

The dramatic announcement of an end to the "state of war" between the neighbours came at the climax of a two-day visit to Eritrea by Ethiopia's reform-minded Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has led the push for a pacifying of relations.

"This move opens prospects for real, regional economic integration. Get the economic underpinnings of the region right and you get stability," said Alex Rondos, the European Union's special representative for the Horn of Africa.

Eritrea, formerly a province of Ethiopia, waged a 30-year war for independence and seceded in 1993. But relations soon soured and around 800,000 people died in a 1998-2000 war.

Abiy has promised to finally implement the peace accord that ended that conflict, a move that could allow both countries to rein in defence spending and redirect funds to areas with greater long-term benefits, such as schools or roads.

"Having those resources on both sides channelled back to their economies is a significant positive impact," Belachew Mekuria of the Ethiopian Investment Commission told Reuters.

"You can't imagine how wasteful it is to secure a border which is more or less artificial."

Of perhaps even greater economic significance, however, was an agreement to jointly develop Eritrea's ports, a development that would give landlocked Ethiopia, among Africa's fastest growing economies, a vital outlet to the Red Sea.

Ethiopia is developing its light manufacturing and apparel sectors by building industrial parks that have attracted the likes of U.S. fashion giant PVH, Dubai-based Velocity Apparelz Companies and China's Jiangsu Sunshine Group .

It is also attracting significant foreign investment into agriculture and horticulture, making use of climatic conditions resembling neighbouring Kenya to become a major source of cut flowers to Europe.

However, for maritime exports Ethiopia has been heavily dependent on ports in tiny neighbour Djibouti.

According to the Ethiopian Textile Development Institute, it takes up to 44 days for clothing consignments leaving Ethiopian factories to reach buyers in Europe, compared to an average 28 days in Bangladesh and 21 days in China.

Eritrean ports could ease bottlenecks. And while the required upgrades are likely beyond the means of Eritrea, financial backing from Ethiopia could make them realistic.

"There are enormous potential complementarities between the two countries if the recent political advances are consolidated," said Andrew Mold, who heads the East Africa office of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

In the first concrete signs of a healing of relations, the two countries re-established telephone connections. Ethiopian Airlines is also due to begin flying to the Eritrean capital Asmara next week.

Reflecting investor optimism, Ethiopia's dollar-denominated 2014 bond soared for the third straight session on Monday to trade at its highest level in 10 weeks.

Ethiopia faces heavy debt related to an infrastructure drive that included a $4 billion, Chinese-built railway to Djibouti. The need to finance further upgrades, this time in erstwhile enemy Eritrea, will test its borrowing capacity.

Though growth has averaged nearly 10 percent for the past decade - starting from a very low base - analysts say the Ethiopian economy is choked by dollar shortages caused mainly by heavy public investment in mega-projects.

Both sides will also probably face opposition to the rapprochement from entrenched hawks at home.

Two people were killed in a grenade attack on a pro-Abiy rally in Addis Ababa last month with suspicion falling on those opposed to the prime minister's reform agenda.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki's government is notoriously isolationist and its initial silence in the face of Ethiopia's overtures was interpreted by some as scepticism.

But its decrepit economy, which forces thousands of young Eritreans to flee every year, most of them to Europe, and the prospect of relief from international sanctions could give the government an incentive to stick to the deal.

"The economy in Eritrea is in very dire straits. It would be logical for it to also want re-engagement," said Alex Vines, head of the Africa programme at London's Chatham House think tank. "But this will be a slow process with fits and starts."</s>(CNN) — Former sworn enemies Ethiopia and Eritrea Monday signed an agreement to end the war between the countries, according to Eritrea’s Information Minister.

Yemane Meskel tweeted that the “state of war that existed between the two countries has come to an end.”

The minister added in the post that “a new era of peace and friendship has been ushered. Both countries will work to promote close cooperation in political, economic, social, cultural and security areas.”

The declaration was signed Monday during an unprecedented summit between the leaders of the countries in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara.

During a state dinner to welcome the Ethiopian delegation Sunday, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced the two countries have agreed to reopen embassies and ports and allow flight operations to strengthen diplomatic ties between them, Meskel added.

The landmark trip follows an announcement in June by Ethiopia’s ruling party that it planned to fully implement the peace deal reached with Eritrea in 2000 known as the Algiers Agreement, including a key ruling on borders from 2003 that Ethiopia originally rejected.

The brutal border war was fought from 1998 to 2000 and at least 70,000 people were killed.

Prime Minister Abiy — the first Ethiopian leader to set foot in neighboring Eritrea during the current millennium — was welcomed Sunday at the airport by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and other senior officials.

Photos posted by members of the delegation on social media appear to show the streets of Asmara lined with crowds and flags of both countries.

Abiy took office in April and — speaking on state television after the swearing-in ceremony — appealed to the Eritrean government to solve “years of misunderstanding.” Recent weeks have seen increased diplomatic efforts between the two countries.

Pope Francis, in his Angelus prayer last Sunday, described the new initiative as a “light of hope for these two countries of the Horn of Africa and for the entire African continent,” according to the official Vatican News.

“In the midst of many conflicts,” the pontiff said, “I would like to highlight an initiative that can be described as historic and that is good news: in these days, after 20 years, the governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea are talking of peace.”</s>With hugs and cheers, the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea have met for the first time in more than 25 years amid a recent thawing in relations between the two long-time East African rivals.

In a landmark visit, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed landed in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on Sunday, for a bi-lateral summit, aimed at repairing relations between the two countries. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki warmly greeted Abiy at the airport, Eritrea’s state television showed.

“A truly historic moment with memorable watershed events: brotherly embrace of the leaders,” said Yemane G Meskel, Eritrea’s minister of information, on Twitter, adding that Ethiopian Airlines landed in Asmara for the first time in 20 years.

The visit comes a month after Abiy surprised people by fully accepting a peace deal that ended a two-year border war between the two countries.

A high-level Eritrean delegation led by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh had earlier visited the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, last month for peace talks.

This week’s summit aims to “further deepen efforts to bring about lasting peace,” said Abiy’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega.

“Our two nations share a history and bond like no other,” he said on Twitter. “We can now overcome two decades of mistrust and move in a new direction.”

Video footage from the Ethiopian state television showed crowds dancing and singing for the two leaders at the Asmara International Airport.

Ahead of Abiy’s arrival, Ethiopian Information Minister Meskel said the visit “heralds a new era of peace and coopertion”.

Ethiopians expressed welcome shock at the landmark meeting.

“Historic … the beginning of the end. The glass ceiling has been broken,” one resident, Shewit Wudassie, wrote on Facebook.

Eritrea, which comprised of Ethiopia’s only access to the sea, broke off from its larger neighbour in 1993 leaving Addis Ababa landlocked.

The East African countries fought a bloody border war that erupted in 1998. The two-year war left more than 80,000 people dead and hundreds of thousands displaced.

A UN-backed peace agreement in 2000 awarded the disputed border territories to Eritrea, but the deal was never implemented.

The countries have skirmished since then in one of Africa’s longest-running conflicts.

Last month’s decision last month to fully accept the deal was the biggest and most surprising reform yet announced by Ethiopia’s 42-year-old prime minister, who took office in April and quickly set off a wave of reforms, freeing journalists and opposition figures from prison, opening up the state-run economy and unblocking hundreds of websites after years of anti-government protests demanding more freedoms.</s>(Bloomberg) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, Sunday for talks with President Isaias Afwerki aimed at ending almost two decades of strife.

“This historic official visit and the summit that will take place between the two leaders of both countries, is the first of its kind for 20 years,” Yemane Gebremeskel, Eritrea’s information minister, said on his Twitter account. “It heralds a new era of peace and cooperation.”

A meeting between Isaias and Abiy, whose nations have been at odds since a 1998-2000 border war, will cap landmark talks that began last month between officials from both countries. Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of conflict. A rapprochement began after Abiy became premier in April and the ruling party’s politburo pledged to implement a long-delayed peace deal.

Ethiopia announced on June 5 it would fully implement the so-called Algiers Agreement signed in 2000 to formally end a two-year war between the Horn of Africa neighbors that killed about 100,000 people. The deal was never enacted, with Ethiopia refusing to recognize a monitor’s findings on ownership of the disputed border town of Badme.

Isaias sent a delegation, including Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, for talks in Ethiopia after Abiy said he was keen on normalizing relations.

Abiy arrived in Asmara on an Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise plane. The national carrier is resume flights to neighboring Eritrea by September after a two-decade absence.

“Our two nations share a history and bond like no other,” the Ethiopian prime minister’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, said on his Twitter account. “We can now overcome two decades of mistrust and move in a new direction.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Helen Nyambura in Nairobi at hnyambura@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Steve Geimann
Leaders from Eritrea and Ethiopia officially declare an end to their countries' 20-year border conflict.