NEW YORK (Halbeeg News) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday welcomed the visit by foreign ministers of Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia to Djibouti to initiate a dialogue to resolve the border dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea.
In a statement through his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, Guterres said the agreement reached among the four ministers to work together to restore peace and stability in the region is a positive example for the region and beyond.
He reiterated the readiness of the UN to support countries in the region in consolidating the recent “remarkable” gains.
“The Secretary-General reiterates the readiness of the United Nations to support countries in the Horn of Africa region in consolidating the recent remarkable gains,” he said.
The remarks of Guterres on the heel of the visit of Eritrean delegates led by Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Salah to Djibouti.
Saleh was accompanied by his Somali counterpart Ahmed Isse Awad and Ethiopia’s Workneh Gebeyehu who travelled to Djibouti to “advance dialogue” between the two nations, Ethiopian state media reported.
Djibouti-Eritrea border row is a product of a colonial times dispute between the French and the Italians which escalated in 2008 when clashes erupted between Eritrean and Djiboutian soldiers.
In 2010, the dispute between these two nation was temporarily solved by a Qatar-mediated deal in 2010, but Djibouti insists that Eritrea allegedly has not returned a number of its soldiers captured during the clashes.
Discussion about this post