Ethiopia and Eritrea on Sunday 16th September 2018 signed an agreement at a summit in Saudi Arabia, bolstering a historic peace accord between the two former Horn of Africa enemies.
Saudi King Salman hosted the signing ceremony which was also attended by his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
According to Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, “The peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea signed in Jeddah is a historic event that will contribute to strengthening security and stability in the region.”
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki signed a peace pact in July ending two decades of enmity sparked by a two-year border conflict which broke out in 1998. Two land border crossings between Ethiopia and Eritrea were reopened last Tuesday for the first time in 20 years, crowning a rapid reconciliation between the former bitter enemies.
The warming of ties in the Horn of Africa has also seen Ethiopia and Eritrea re-open air links, embassies and trade routes.
UN Secretary-General, Guterres stated that Saudi Arabia will also host possible talks between the presidents of Djibouti and Eritrea on the 18th and 19th of September, 2018. The two nations have been at loggerheads for decades over a long-standing border dispute.
“There is a wind of hope blowing in the Horn of Africa,” Guterres told journalists after the signing. “It is not only the peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea – it is the fact that tomorrow and the day after tomorrow we will have, here in Saudi Arabia, the president of Djibouti and the president of Eritrea – two countries that have also been at odds with each other.”
