Asmara (Halbeeg)- A high-level delegation from Eritrea is expected arrive in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia for the first time since Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia in 1991.
The two neighbouring countries engaged in a deadly gun battle between 1998 and 2000.
Despite the claims by Eritrea that 19,000 of its soldiers were killed, more realistic estimates put the total number of 70,000 t0 80,000 victims on both sides.
Ten years down the line, the leaders both countries paved the way for dialogue to end the hostilities between their countries.
Eritrean Minister for Information, Yemane G. Meskel announced that Eritrean delegates were due to arrive in Addis Ababa to discuss on recent peace overtures.
Senior Eritrean delegation composed of Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Presidential adviser Yemane Ghebreab has departed to, and will arriving in Addis Ababa today,” Meskel said in a post on his Twitter account.
Senior Eritrean delegation composed of Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Presidential Adviser Yemane Ghebreab has departed to, and will be arriving in, Addis Abeba today. pic.twitter.com/g1Lg78YGgQ
— Yemane G. Meskel 🇪🇷 (@hawelti) June 26, 2018
On the other side, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry also confirmed the plan saying Eritrean delegation would be traveling to Addis Ababa for dialogue on Tuesday.
The Eritrean delegation is arriving not only today but In a few hours,” said Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Meles Alem.
On Tuesday twinned Eritrean and Ethiopian flags lined the main road to the airport where a red carpet was laid out and a brass band assembled.
Abiy is expected to greet the Eritreans in person when they land later in the day.
Early this month, in an unprecedented announcement, Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed said his government would abide by a 2002 border ruling which took place in Algiers.
He also pledged that Ethiopian troops will be pulled out of the contested territory between the two countries.
President Isaias Afwerki had stated on Martyrs Day: "… outside myopic considerations of public relations stunts & advantages, we will send a delegation to Addis Abeba to gauge current developments directly & in depth as well as to chart out a plan for continuous future action"
— Yemane G. Meskel 🇪🇷 (@hawelti) June 26, 2018
Last week, Eritrean President, Asais Afwerki welcomed the decision by Prime Minister Ahmed expressing hopes of a breakthrough in one the region’s protracted military conflict.
Following the announcement by Asmara, Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed thanked President Isaias for the positive response to Ethiopia’s peace and reconciliation overture.
He also expressed his readiness to welcome warmly and with considerable goodwill the Eritrean delegation.
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