The border between Eritrea and former rival Ethiopia has officially opened after two decades.

The border between Eritrea and former rival Ethiopia has officially opened after two decades.

Eritrea information minister Yemane Meskel said in a post on Twitter that Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have opened the border point at Bure for “road transport connectivity”.

They will later conduct a similar ceremony at the Serha-Zalambesa crossing.

The leaders have been celebrating their recent diplomatic thaw by marking the Ethiopian new year at their border.

The two have made a dramatic reconciliation since Abiy, shortly after taking office, announced that Ethiopia would fully embrace a peace deal that ended a bloody 1998-2000 border war.

Embassies have reopened, telephone lines have been restored and commercial flights between the capitals have resumed.

Abiy on Monday said that “as of today, Ethiopian and Eritrean people will prosper together and march in unison. The last five months have brought hope and reconciliation”. </s> Ethiopia reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital on Thursday, state media reported, the latest step in restoring ties after the two nations ended decades of conflict.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a peace pact in July, ending the hostilities that began with a two-year border war in 1998 and degenerated into 18 years of stalemated relations.

Abiy had arrived in Eritrea on Wednesday for his second visit since taking office, inspecting the Red Sea nation's two main ports before travelling to the capital Asmara.

"Ethiopia's Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki reopened the embassy in a brief ceremony," Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported on Thursday.

Abiy, Isaias and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who joined the leaders in Asmara, had on Wednesday signed an agreement to "build close political, economic, social, cultural and security ties", according to Eritrea's information ministry.

Also on Wednesday, an Ethiopian cargo ship arrived in Eritrea's Massawa port to transport zinc to China, marking the formal reopening of Eritrean ports to Ethiopian trade.

Eritrea was once a province of its larger southern neighbour and comprised its entire coastline.

After a bloody, decades-long independence struggle, Eritrea voted in 1993 to separate, rendering Ethiopia landlocked.

The two countries then went to war from 1998 to 2000 after a border dispute turned violent.

A 2002 UN-backed boundary demarcation was meant to settle the dispute for good, but Ethiopia refused to abide by it and held on to disputed territory meant to be under Eritrean control.

Elevated to the premiership in April, Abiy announced in June that Ethiopia would hand back the disputed areas including the flashpoint town of Badme where the first shots of the border war were fired.

During his visit this week, Abiy also inspected the road leading from Assab, the other major Eritrean port, to the Ethiopian border, his chief of staff Fitsum Arega tweeted.

However it remains unclear when the heavily militarised Ethiopia-Eritrea border will formally open or when Ethiopian forces will withdraw from the disputed areas. </s> The border between Eritrea and former rival Ethiopia has officially opened after two decades.

Eritrea information minister Yemane Meskel said in a post on Twitter that Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed have opened the border point at Bure for “road transport connectivity”.

They will later conduct a similar ceremony at the Serha-Zalambesa crossing. </s> The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea have officially opened the border where a bloody war divided them for decades, with emotional residents embracing after years of separation.

The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea have officially opened the border where a bloody war divided them for decades, with emotional residents embracing after years of separation.

Troops to pull out as Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders officially open border

Taking the next step in a dramatic diplomatic thaw, Ethiopia later announced that troops on both sides would withdraw.

Ethiopia’s reformist new prime minister Abiy Ahmed and long-time Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki “marked the radical transformation of the Ethio-Eritrea border into a frontier of peace & friendship”, Mr Abiy’s chief of staff Fitsum Arega said in a Twitter post.

The leaders visited the Bure Front with members of their militaries to mark the Ethiopian new year and later did the same at the Serha-Zalambesa crossing, Eritrean information minister Yemane Meskel.

Photos showed Mr Abiy in camouflage gear walking alongside Mr Isaias in olive drab, while a ribbon stretched across one border post bristled with military personnel carrying not guns but cameras.

Hundreds of civilians waved flags, and people of the countries’ Tigray region, who share close cultural ties, danced while flag-draped camels wandered by.

In comments carried by the state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate, Mr Abiy announced: “To ease the tense atmosphere that existed in border areas, Ethiopian Defence Forces will return to various camps to recover and obtain additional training. The same will be done on the Eritrean side. Until then, soldiers will assist local farmers and shift to development activities.”

The former bitter rivals have made a stunning reconciliation since Mr Abiy – weeks after taking office in April – announced that Ethiopia would fully embrace a peace deal that ended a 1998-2000 border war that killed tens of thousands.

At the time, he said the countries would celebrate the Ethiopian new year together: “We want our brothers and sisters to come here and visit us as soon as possible.”

Embassies have reopened, telephone lines have been restored and commercial flights between the capitals have resumed as some long-separated families have held tearful reunions.

Landlocked Ethiopia, one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies, and Eritrea, one of the world’s most closed-off nations, also plan development co-operation around Eritrea’s Red Sea ports in particular. </s> The embassy reopening follows a recent diplomatic thaw between the East African neighbours, on the impetus of Ethiopia's new reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

"Re-opening of the Ethiopian Embassy in Asmara today: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki hoist Ethiopian Flag," Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel tweeted.

Eritrea opened its embassy in Addis Ababa on July 16.

The two countries cut all diplomatic ties after the 1998-2000 border war that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.

Earlier this year, Abiy accepted a border agreement Ethiopia had previously rejected, and the two countries officially declared peace.

Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somalian officials are currently in Asmara for a tripartite meeting.

Eritrea's information minister said the meeting "invokes the close ties of geography, history, culture, religion and vital common interests of the peoples of the three countries." </s> Ethiopia reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital on Thursday, state media reported, the latest step in restoring ties after the two nations ended decades of conflict.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a peace pact in July, ending the hostilities that began with a two-year border war in 1998 and degenerated into 18 years of stalemated relations.

Abiy had arrived in Eritrea on Wednesday for his second visit since taking office, inspecting the Red Sea nation’s two main ports before travelling to the capital Asmara.

“Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki reopened the embassy in a brief ceremony,” Ethiopia’s state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported on Thursday.

Abiy, Isaias and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who joined the leaders in Asmara, had on Wednesday signed an agreement to “build close political, economic, social, cultural and security ties”, according to Eritrea’s information ministry. — AFP </s> ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) — Celebrating their dramatic diplomatic thaw, the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea on Tuesday officially opened the border where a bloody war and ensuing tensions had divided them for decades, with emotional residents embracing after years of separation.

Ethiopia's reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and longtime Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki visited the Bure Front along with members of their militaries to mark the Ethiopian new year, Abiy's chief of staff Fitsum Arega said in a Twitter post.

The two opened the border post "for road transport connectivity" and later were doing the same at the Serha-Zalambesa crossing, Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Meskel said on Twitter.

Photos posted by both officials showed Abiy in camouflage walking alongside Isaias in olive drab, while hundreds of civilians lined a road with the countries' flags in hand. Television footage showed people of the countries' Tigray region, who share close cultural ties, dancing while flag-draped camels wandered by.

The former bitter rivals have made a stunning reconciliation since Abiy weeks after taking office in April announced that Ethiopia would fully embrace a peace deal that ended a 1998-2000 border war that killed tens of thousands. At the time, he said the countries would celebrate the Ethiopian new year together: "We want our brothers and sisters to come here and visit us as soon as possible."

Embassies have reopened, telephone lines have been restored and commercial flights between the capitals have resumed as some long-separated families have held tearful reunions. Landlocked Ethiopia, one of Africa's fastest-growing economies, and Eritrea, one of the world's most closed-off nations, also plan development cooperation around Eritrea's Red Sea ports in particular.

Reports on social media on Monday indicated that mine-clearing activities were underway in one border area, signaling that an opening was planned. The United Nations has called the border one of the world's most heavily mined.

It was not clear if the countries would withdraw troops from the border.

Abiy on Monday told a new year's eve concert crowd of thousands in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, that "as of today, Ethiopian and Eritrean people will prosper together and march in unison. ... The last five months have brought hope and reconciliation."

The Ethiopian new year has roots in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and is related to the Julian calendar. Eritrea has used the Gregorian calendar since it gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

The reconciliation between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been warmly welcomed by the international community and has led to a series of further thaws in the fragile Horn of Africa region, with Eritrea resuming diplomatic ties with both turbulent Somalia and the small but strategic port and military nation of Djibouti.

Observers now wonder whether the thaw will inspire Eritrea's leader, who has led since independence without elections, to embrace reforms and loosen a strict military conscription system that has led the small country to become one of the largest sources of migrants fleeing toward Europe, Israel and elsewhere.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> Ethiopia has reopened its embassy in Eritrea after a 20-year hiatus, in a further sign of improving relations between the neighbours who signed a peace accord earlier this year.

A brief reopening ceremony in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on Thursday was attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki and senior officials of both countries, according to state-affiliated Ethiopian Fana Broadcasting.

Redwan Hussein was named the new Ethiopian ambassador.

Since signing an agreement in Asmara to restore ties on July 9, leaders from both countries have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility that followed the conflict in 1998.

In July, Eritrea reopened its embassy in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and named an ambassador to represent it.

Air links were also re-established with Ethiopian Airlines commencing direct passenger flights between Addis Ababa and Asmara.

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Once a province of Ethiopia, Eritrea seceded in 1993 after a long independence struggle. A dispute over the demarcation of their shared border triggered the conflict.

The Horn of Africa nations remained at loggerheads since Ethiopia rejected a United Nations ruling and refused to cede to Eritrea land along the countries' border following the 1998-2000 war.

Elevated to the premiership in April, Abiy announced in June that Ethiopia would give up its claim to the disputed border territories that triggered the fighting.

The new Ethiopian prime minister said Addis Ababa will fully implement the UN-backed peace agreement which awarded the territories to Asmara. </s> Celebrating their dramatic diplomatic thaw, the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea on Tuesday marked the new year at a border where a bloody war and ensuing tensions had divided them for decades.

Ethiopia’s reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and longtime Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki were visiting the Bure Front along with members of their militaries, Abiy’s chief of staff Fitsum Arega said in a Twitter post.

Photos posted by Arega showed Abiy in camouflage and sunglasses walking alongside Isaias in olive drab.

The former bitter rivals have made a dramatic reconciliation since Abiy weeks after taking office in April announced that Ethiopia would fully embrace a peace deal that ended a 1998-2000 border war.

Embassies have reopened, telephone lines have been restored and commercial flights between the capitals have resumed. Landlocked Ethiopia, one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies, and Eritrea, one of the world’s most closed-off nations, also plan development cooperation around Eritrea’s Red Sea ports in particular.

The border, however, has yet to open to everyday traffic though reports on social media on Monday indicated that mine-clearing activities were underway in one area.

Abiy on Monday told a new year’s eve concert crowd of thousands in the capital, Addis Ababa, that “as of today, Ethiopian and Eritrean people will prosper together and march in unison. … The last five months have brought hope and reconciliation.”

The reconciliation has been warmly welcomed by the international community and has led to a series of further thaws in the fragile Horn of Africa region, with Eritrea resuming diplomatic ties with both turbulent Somalia and the small but strategic port and military nation of Djibouti.
The Eritrean–Ethiopian border reopens for the first time since 1998.