Ethiopia's prime minister Abiy Ahmed was warmly greeted by Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki in the capital Asmara yesterday at the start of a meeting to repair relations between the neighbours.

Eritrean state television showed footage of the two men embracing, while Mr Abiy's chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, tweeted photographs saying, "The visit offers a spectacular opportunity to decidedly move forward peace for the good of our people."

In a scene unimaginable just weeks ago, Abiy stepped from an Ethiopian Airlines plane at the airport in Asmara, greeting Isaias and hugging him before the pair strode off along a red carpet.

They made no comment before heading to a meeting.

"The visit is part of efforts to normalise relations with Eritrea. (Abiy) is expected to talk with the Eritrean leadership (about) how to mend fences," Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem told AFP.

The historic meeting came after Abiy's announcement last month that Ethiopia would cede to Eritrea land along the countries' border it occupies in violation of a 2002 United Nations-backed boundary demarcation.

Ethiopia's refusal to implement the demarcation deadlocked relations between the two even after the end of a 1998-2000 boundary war that cost 80,000 lives. Once a province of Ethiopia that comprised its entire coastline, Eritrea voted to leave in 1993 after a bloody independence struggle.

The break rendered Ethiopia landlocked, and ties deteriorated five years later when a dispute over their shared frontier descended into war. In office since April, Abiy has pursued an ambitious reform agenda, including reversing years of policy and announcing that Ethiopia would abide by the 2002 boundary ruling.

The move paved way for two top Eritrean officials to visit Addis Ababa last month, after which the meeting between the two leaders was announced.

However, Ethiopia has yet to withdraw from disputed territory. [AFP]</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.

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.</s>The leaders of Eritrea and Ethiopia embraced at Asmara International Airport Sunday, a historic moment in what has long been one of Africa’s most entrenched conflicts.

The meeting between Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed continues a thawing of relations between the two countries.

The summit, in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, is the first time the countries’ heads of government have met since 2000, when Afwerki and former Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi signed the Algiers Agreement, formally ending two years of deadly conflict between the countries.

Ethiopia refused to implement the terms of a deal to demarcate the countries’ shared border two years after the Algiers agreement was signed and continued to occupy land awarded to Eritrea by an international court.

That led to a cold war between the East African countries that has lasted nearly 20 years, with particularly damaging effects on Eritrea, a country a fraction the size of Ethiopia.

Afwerki has used the border conflict as a reason for strict rule, compulsory national service and perpetually deferred elections.

But Sheila Keetharuth, the United Nation’s special rapporteur on Eritrea, said these conditions have also led to “arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention, indefinite military/national service amounting to forced labor, with a range of violations committed in this context, as well as severe restrictions of fundamental freedoms.”

Eritreans and Ethiopians share language, culture and familial ties. But Eritrea’s 30-year war for independence from Ethiopia, along with the border war, have created deep fissures.

Until recently, the conflict between the countries seemed unsolvable.

That changed in early June, when Ahmed made the surprise announcement that Ethiopia would accept the terms of the Algiers Agreement.

Previous prime ministers have made similar promises, but Ahmed’s overture carried special weight. The 41-year-old assumed office in April at the height of a political crisis after years of unrest in two of Ethiopia’s largest regions. He has since enacted many reforms and promised a new era of unity and accountability.

He is also Ethiopia’s first prime minister from Oromia, a region far removed from the contentious border region and the TPLF political party that controlled Ethiopia since Eritrea, a former province, gained independence in 1993.

In late June, Eritrea sent a high-level delegation to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, for several days of talks with Ahmed, setting the stage for Sunday’s summit.

Afwerki, dressed in an olive-colored suit, embraced Ahmed after he came down the steps from his Ethiopian Airlines jetliner with his entourage and walked across the tarmac. Red carpet had been laid, and a crowd of onlookers and a brass band flanked the leaders, who later greeted some of those in attendance. Some wore T-shirts adorned with images of the two leaders and told Eri TV, the sole state-owned broadcaster, about the significance of peace between the countries.

Afwerki and Ahmed then rode through Asmara, where cheering crowds warmly greeted them, on their way to begin formal talks.

If the nations do find a path toward peace, the impact could be deep and far reaching.

Ethiopia is landlocked, and access to Eritrea’s ports could transform its economy and strengthen its ability to deliver humanitarian aid. Eritrea’s economy could also benefit, and long-standing human rights concerns could be addressed, observers say.

Keetharuth, who has reached the end of her six-year mandate, told the U.N. that resolving the border conflict would set the stage for peace, but true peace for Eritrea would entail much more.

“The mentality needs to change because up to now it has been a mentality, especially, for both sides, preserving where we are in terms of borders, preserving our gains in terms of territory and preserving other issues.”

Human rights, justice and respect must be achieved for true and lasting peace, Keetharuth said.</s>ADDIS ABABA: Cheering crowds lined the streets of the Eritrean capital Asmara on Sunday as Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived for historic talks with President Isaias Afwerki aimed at repairing relations between the neighbours.

The Horn of Africa nations have remained at loggerheads since Ethiopia rejected a United Nations ruling and refused to cede to Eritrea land along the countries’ border following a 1998-2000 war that killed 80,000 people.

There was no sign of that animosity on Sunday as Abiy stepped from an Ethiopian Airlines plane at the airport in Asmara to be greeted by Isaias before the pair strode off along a red carpet.

Eritrean state television showed footage of the two men embracing while Abiy’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega said on Twitter, “The visit offers a spectacular opportunity to decidedly move forward peace for the good of our people.”

Crowds waving both nations’ flags were shown thronging the streets of Asmara as a convoy carrying the two leaders passed.

“The visit is part of efforts to normalise relations with Eritrea. (Abiy) is expected to talk with the Eritrean leadership (about) how to mend fences,” Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem told AFP.

Eritrea’s information minister Yemane Gebremeskel later tweeted a photo of the two leaders huddled in discussion, adding their meeting will, “set the tone for rapid, positive changes on the basis of respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The discussions appeared to have already born fruit late Sunday, with Fitsum announcing that international telephone services between the two countries had been restored.

The historic visit came after Abiy’s move last month to abide by the 2002 decision from the UN-backed commission aimed at settling Ethiopia and Eritrea’s border dispute, which fuelled the two-year war.

The UN decision awards chunks of land along the border, including the flashpoint town of Badme, to Eritrea.

Ethiopia had rejected the ruling and continues to occupy the town, sparking a heated rivalry between the two countries that has over the years erupted in gunfire.

Both nations have supported rebel groups intent on overthrowing the other’s government and periodically engaged in direct deadly skirmishes along the border.

Once a province of Ethiopia that comprised its entire coastline, Eritrea voted to leave in 1993 after a decades-long and 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.

Eritrea has used the threat of renewed Ethiopian aggression to justify repressive policies including an indefinite national service programme the UN has likened to slavery.</s>(Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia will resume using Eritrean ports after the leaders of both countries agreed to restore diplomatic ties, ending almost two decades of strife, Fana Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, Sunday for talks with President Isaias Afwerki during which the two heads of state discussed how to resolve their “intricate border issues” and normalizing relations, the state-owned Ethiopian News Agency reported.

The nations have been at odds since a 1998-2000 border war and a rapprochement began after Abiy became Ethiopian premier in April. Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of conflict.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nizar Manek in Nairobi at nmanek2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Eric Ombok, Helen Nyambura</s>ADDIS ABABA, July 8 — Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed was warmly greeted by Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki in the capital Asmara on Sunday at the start of a meeting to repair relations between the neighbours.

Eritrean state television showed footage of the two men embracing while Abiy’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, tweeted photographs saying, “The visit offers a spectacular opportunity to decidedly move forward peace for the good of our people.”

In a scene unimaginable just weeks ago, Abiy stepped from an Ethiopian Airlines plane at the airport in Asmara, greeting Isaias and hugging him before the pair strode off along a red carpet.

They made no comment before heading to a meeting.

“The visit is part of efforts to normalise relations with Eritrea. [Abiy] is expected to talk with the Eritrean leadership [about] how to mend fences,” Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem told AFP.

The historic meeting came after Abiy’s announcement last month that Ethiopia would cede to Eritrea land along the countries’ border it occupies in violation of a 2002 United Nations-backed boundary demarcation.

Ethiopia’s refusal to implement the demarcation deadlocked relations between the two even after the end of a 1998-2000 boundary war that killed 80,000 people.

Once a province of Ethiopia that comprised its entire coastline, Eritrea voted to leave in 1993 after a bloody independence struggle.

The break rendered Ethiopia landlocked, and ties deteriorated five years later when a dispute over their shared frontier descended into war.

In office since April, Abiy has pursued an ambitious reform agenda including reversing years of policy and announcing Ethiopia would abide by the 2002 boundary ruling.

The move paved the way for two top Eritrean officials to visit Addis Ababa last month, after which the meeting between the two leaders was announced.

But Ethiopia has yet to withdraw from disputed territory along the border including the town of Badme, which it controls in violation of the UN ruling. — AFP</s>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 neighbouring 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.

'What we need now is love'

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."

With laughter and hugs, the two leaders of longtime rivals Ethiopia and Eritrea met for the first time in nearly two decades Sunday amid a rapid and dramatic diplomatic thaw aimed at ending one of Africa's longest-running conflicts. (ERITV/Associated Press)

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, travelled 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.

Peace deal ends 20-year border war

Also Sunday, telephone connections were established between the neighbouring 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?"

Ethiopians chant slogans during a rally in support of the newly elected prime minister in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, June 23. (Maheder Haileselassie/Reuters)

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.

Eritrea is one of the world's most closed-off nations

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 five 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.

Throngs of Ethiopians attended the rally. (Reuters)

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 : Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Sunday, the first visit by an Ethiopian leader to Eritrea in 20 years.

The visit comes after the two countries started tentative steps to end a two decades old bitter border dispute that led to a bloody two-year war from 1998-2000, that left an estimated 70,000 people dead from both sides.

Ahmed was greeted at the Asmara International Airport by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and is expected to hold discussions on efforts to bring lasting peace between the two nations. In a press statement, earlier on Sunday, Fitsum Arega, Chief of Staff of the Office of Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said discussions will be held with the Eritrean president on ways to revive the common history and bond between the two nations interrupted by two decades of mistrust. Earlier this month Ethiopia received a high-level Eritrean delegation led by Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Salah, the first high level Eritrean delegation to visit Ethiopia in 20 years.

The Eritrean delegation came to Ethiopia after Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki declared that his country would send a team to Ethiopia to assess a recent Ethiopia peace offer.

On June 5, the Executive Committee of the ruling party, the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) passed decision expressing Ethiopia's commitment to an unconditional implementation of Algiers peace agreement with Eritrea.

The peace agreement ended the two-year border war, but a tense armed standoff continued, with the two countries engaging in skirmishes occasionally.

Ethiopia until this month had declined to endorse the results of the peace agreement fully, including the symbolically important town of Badme which Ethiopia currently controls but which was awarded to Eritrea.

Eritrea for its part had until recently insisted the border demarcation must be done first before any talks on normalizing ties.</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.

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.</s>Ethiopia's prime minister Abiy Ahmed's chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, tweeted photographs of Ahmed and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki in the capital Asmara. Photo: Twitter / @fitsumregaa

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia's prime minister Abiy Ahmed was warmly greeted by Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki in the capital Asmara on Sunday at the start of a meeting to repair relations between the neighbours.

Eritrean state television showed footage of the two men embracing while Abiy's chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, tweeted photographs saying, "The visit offers a spectacular opportunity to decidedly move forward peace for the good of our people."

In a scene unimaginable just weeks ago, Abiy stepped from an Ethiopian Airlines plane at the airport in Asmara, greeting Isaias and hugging him before the pair strode off along a red carpet.

They made no comment before heading to a meeting.

"The visit is part of efforts to normalise relations with Eritrea. [Abiy] is expected to talk with the Eritrean leadership [about] how to mend fences," Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem told AFP.

The historic meeting came after Abiy's announcement last month that Ethiopia would cede to Eritrea land along the countries' border it occupies in violation of a 2002 United Nations-backed boundary demarcation.

Ethiopia's refusal to implement the demarcation deadlocked relations between the two even after the end of a 1998-2000 boundary war that killed 80,000 people.

Once a province of Ethiopia that comprised its entire coastline, Eritrea voted to leave in 1993 after a bloody independence struggle.

The break rendered Ethiopia landlocked, and ties deteriorated five years later when a dispute over their shared frontier descended into war.

In office since April, Abiy has pursued an ambitious reform agenda including reversing years of policy and announcing Ethiopia would abide by the 2002 boundary ruling.

The move paved the way for two top Eritrean officials to visit Addis Ababa last month, after which the meeting between the two leaders was announced.

But Ethiopia has yet to withdraw from disputed territory along the border including the town of Badme, which it controls in violation of the UN ruling.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed meets with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki in Asmara and they pledge to restore diplomatic relations.