Asmara -(Halbeeg)- Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Wednesday said his country will dispatch to Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa for a “constructive engagement with Ethiopia.”
Speaking at a Martyrs’ Day event in the capital, Asmara, Afwerki expressed hopes of a breakthrough in one of Africa’s most intractable conflicts.
“We will send a delegation to Addis Ababa to gauge current developments directly and in depth and to chart out a plan for continuous future action,” he said.
He described recent peace overtures from arch-enemy Ethiopia as “positive signals”.
“The events and developments that have unfolded in our region in general and in Ethiopia in particular in the recent period warrant appropriate attention,” the president of Eritrea said.
In April this year, Ethiopia extended a hand of peace after 18 years hiatus in diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The new Prime Minister, Mr. Abiy Ahmed told legislators this week that the decision to make peace with Eritrea was in the interests of development. Improved relations with Eritrea were one of the key issues highlighted in his inaugural speech as prime minister in April.
Dr. Ahmed said he was prepared to honour international rulings that put Badme, which Ethiopia has refused to cede, in Eritrea.
The ruling party of Ethiopia on June 5 announced that it would accept the Dec. 12, 2000, Algiers agreement, which had effectively ended the 1998-2000 war between the two neighboring countries.
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