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Ethiopian Airlines said on Tuesday it will resume flights to Eritrea's capital Asmara on July 17 for the first time in 20 years, a day after the neighbours and longtime foes declared their "state of war" over.
"With the opening of a new chapter of peace and friendship between the two sisterly countries, we look forward to starting flights to Asmara with the B787," said Tewolde GebreMariam, the firm's chief executive.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who is on a three-day visit to former rival Eritrea, on Sunday announced that the two countries have agreed to reopen embassies in their capitals and also to resume flights.“We have agreed to resume diplomatic relations; there would no more be the sad memory of war between the governments and peoples of the two countries,” he said at a high-level gathering the Eritrean capital Asmara.Earlier, a few hours after the Prime Minister’s arrival in Asmara, telecommunication services that had been down for more than 20 years has come to life.Upon arrival at the Asmara airport, Ahmed received a rapturous welcome with Eritreans out on the streets singing and chanting, spreading flowers and popcorn on the streets in a typical Eritrean tradition.In May this year, Ethiopia announced that it would implement the December 2000 Algiers agreement and the decisions of the International Boundary Commission.The Algiers agreement came after the two neighbors fought a bloody war from 1998-2000 in which 70,000-80,000 people perished on both sides.The international boundary commission later decided that Badme, a borderland that was a flashpoint of the conflict, belonged to Eritrea while it ruled that Eritrea should compensate Ethiopia for the huge amount of Ethiopian shipment confiscated in Assab Port.Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1993.
Ethiopia, Eritrea agree to reopen embassies
Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has become the first head of government to visit Eritrea, breaking away from the “no-peace, no-war” situation that has existed between the neighboring countries for the past two decades.Ahmed arrived in Eritrean capital Asmara for historic peace talks Sunday.The initiative came on the heels of a visit by Eritrea’s high-level delegation to Ethiopia last month, including Yemane Gebreab, President Issaias Afeworki’s special adviser and Foreign Minister Usman Salah.“This visit is part of efforts to normalize relations with Eritrea,” Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Meles Alem told Anadolu Agency. “[The prime minister] is expected to talk with the Eritrean leadership on how to mend fences.”In May, Ethiopia announced it would implement the December 2000 Algiers agreement and the decisions of the International Boundary Commission.The Algiers agreement came after the two neighbors fought a bloody war from 1998-2000 in which 70,000-80,000 people perished on both sides.The international boundary commission later decided that Badme, a borderland that was a flashpoint of the conflict, belonged to Eritrea while it ruled that Eritrea should compensate Ethiopia for the huge amount of Ethiopian shipment confiscated in Assab Port.Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1993.
Ethiopian leader visits Asmara for historic peace talks