ASMARA (Halbeeg)- Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki will visit Ethiopia on Saturday, Eritrean and Ethiopian officials confirmed on Friday.
The relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been improving since when Ethiopia’ s prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held out olive branch to Ethiopian erstwhile enemy, Eritrea.
Eritrea’s information minister Yemane Meskel on Friday said Eritrean leaders will be visiting Addis Ababa to hold talks with Ethiopian leaders.
“As announced in his keynote address in Sawa, President Isaias Afwerki will lead a delegation and pay official visit to Ethiopia tomorrow, 14th July,” Meskel said, “The visit will cement further/add momentum to the joint march for peace and cooperation set in motion by both leaders.”
#Eritrea: As announced in his keynote address in Sawa, President Isaias Afwerki will lead a delegation and pay official visit to Ethiopia tomorrow, 14th July. The visit will cement further/add momentum to the joint march for peace and cooperation set in motion by both leaders pic.twitter.com/tSiWROjcn5
— Yemane G. Meskel 🇪🇷 (@hawelti) July 13, 2018
Abiy’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega has also confirmed the move saying Eritrean leader will arrive in Ethiopia for three day state visit.
“HE President Isaias Afeworki will arrive in #Ethiopia tomorrow for a 3 days state visit upon invitation of HE PM Dr Abiy,”
Fitsum said in a tweeter post, “The visit will strengthen the friendship & ties b/n #Ethiopia & #Eritrea. We thank HE President Isaias for honoring us with a visit & we welcome him warmly!”
Isaias, 72-year-old visited Ethiopia in 1996 before the deadly fighting between the two neighbouring countries erupted.
HE President Isaias Afeworki will arrive in #Ethiopia tomorrow for a 3 days state visit upon invitation of HE PM Dr Abiy. The visit will strengthen the friendship & ties b/n #Ethiopia & #Eritrea. We thank HE President Isaias for honoring us with a visit & we welcome him warmly!
— Fitsum Arega (@fitsumaregaa) July 13, 2018
The two countries have restored phone lines and scheduled Ethiopian Airlines flights to Eritrea begin next week.
They are planning to set up embassies in their respective capitals.
The hopes of the breakthrough in decades-old raw began when the 42-year-old Abiy, who took office in April, announced Ethiopia would fully accept a peace deal that ended a two-year border war that killed tens of thousands and separated families.
The decision, which hands disputed border areas to Eritrea, was the boldest move yet in a wave of reforms in Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous country, after years of anti-government protests.
Eritrea 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
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