2018 Eritrea–Ethiopia summit

The 2018 Eritrea–Ethiopia summit (also 2018 Eritrea–Ethiopia peace summit) was a bilateral summit that took place on 8–9 July 2018 in Asmara, Eritrea, between Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and officials from the two countries.
The two leaders signed a joint declaration on 9 July, formally ending the border conflict between both countries, restoring full diplomatic relations, and agreeing to open their borders to each other for persons, goods and services. The joint statement was also considered to close all chapters regarding the Eritrean–Ethiopian War (1998–2000) and of the following Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict (2000–2018) with sporadic clashes.
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 following the 30-year Eritrean War of Independence, and subsequent border disputes caused continuing tension between the two nations. The tensions came to a crisis point in May 1998, and Eritrea invaded Ethiopia, leading to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War; this killed between 70,000–100,000 on both sides and left Eritrea with over a third of its territory occupied and more than 650,000 people displaced.
In 2000, the two countries signed the Algiers Agreement agreeing to submit to binding arbitration to resolve boundary and restitution questions. Eritrea was awarded most of the disputed territory by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, but Ethiopia still occupied most of the disputed land as of 2017. The result was a frozen conflict state of "no war, no peace" and prolonged tensions between the two countries. Each country accused the other of hosting terrorist movements aimed at fomenting regime change, and both remained closed societies; Ethiopia was an authoritarian dominant-party state ruled by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), and Eritrea is a totalitarian one-party state ruled by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Presidential and parliamentary elections in Eritrea have been indefinitely postponed and have never been held since independence.
Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 2012 to 2018, was unable to make progress toward resolving tensions with Eritrea, and his tenure saw repeated waves of protest against the repressive political atmosphere. After he resigned in 2018, he was replaced by Abiy Ahmed, who promised in his inaugural address to negotiate an end to the Ethio-Eritrean conflict.
On 5 June 2018, the Executive Committee of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front announced its intention to accept and fully implement the 2002 ruling of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) established under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration pursuant to the 2000 Algiers Agreement. In a statement, the EPRDF called for Eritrea to reciprocate and implement the peace deal without preconditions.
The decision came as a surprise, representing a reversal of sixteen years of Ethiopian policy. While cause for optimism across much of Ethiopia, in the Tigray Region, under whose jurisdiction most of the disputed territories fall, the announcement sparked protest, including in the disputed town of Badme itself and amongst war veterans. On 13 June 2018 the executive committee of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front denounced, inter alia, the decision to hand over Badme as "fundamentally flawed", saying that the ruling coalition suffered from a "fundamental leadership deficit". Ethnic Irobs living in the border areas currently under Ethiopian administration organised a protest to condemn the decision to accept the boundary commission's ruling, fearing the division of their community. In a question-and-answer session in Parliament on 11 June, Abiy defended his peace initiative, saying: "I was standing in [Badme] when we put up our flag, and I cried. Many of my friends who fought in that war, we had to bury", alluding to his own service during the conflict.
The Eritrean government, seeming to have been caught by surprise by the move, refrained from commenting on the Ethiopian offer for two weeks until 20 June, in President Isaias's speech on the occasion of Martyrs' Day. Bemoaning "two lost generations" of opportunity, the Eritrean president announced that his government would send a delegation to Addis Ababa "to gauge current developments directly and in depth as well as to chart out a plan for continuous future action". Less than a week later, on 26 June 2018, Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh visited Addis Ababa for three days, taking part in the first bilateral meeting between the two countries in over two decades. The two countries agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and exchange ambassadors, and Abiy agreed to meet with his Eritrean counterpart "in the near future", although Ethiopian foreign minister Workneh Gebeyehu added that a time and location had not been determined.
Abiy arrived in Asmara, Eritrea on 8 July, where he was greeted by President Isaias at Asmara International Airport. Hundreds of thousands of people lined Asmara's main thoroughfare, Harnet Avenue, to welcome the Ethiopian leader's motorcade. The two leaders and their delegations held an expanded bilateral meeting at the Presidential Palace, announcing that telephone lines between the two countries would be re-connected with immediate effect. Also announced were the re-establishment of embassies, the opening of ports, air routes, and "free travel" between the two countries, although what the latter would entail was unclear.
That evening, the Eritrean leader held an official dinner for his Ethiopian guest at the Asmara Municipality Building, attended by government and party officials and the diplomatic corps, in which the two toasted the end of tensions and heralded a new era of Eritrea–Ethiopia relations.
Following a coffee ceremony at Isaias's private residence, the two leaders signed a five-point "Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship" declaring that "the state of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea has come to an end; a new era of peace and friendship has been opened." In the joint declaration, the two countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations and transport, trade and communications links, implement the EEBC's border ruling, and ensure regional peace and cooperation.
Abiy then departed Asmara—again with President Isaias bidding him farewell at the airport—and returned to Addis Ababa.
Abiy was accompanied by Workneh Gebeyehu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Muferiat Kamil, the Speaker of the House of Peoples' Representatives, Keria Ibrahim, the Speaker of the House of Federation, and Seyoum Awol, President of the Afar Region. Notably absent was Debretsion Gebremichael, President of the Tigray Region and leader of the TPLF, which has been critical of the peace process.
Leaders and organizations across Africa and the world welcomed the summit's success, expressing their support for the peace process between the two countries.
Countries and territories
Organizations
The evening of his return to Ethiopia, Prime Minister Abiy met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and briefed him on the summit proceedings. As a result of its successful outcome, Abiy requested that the United Nations lift its sanctions—imposed largely due to the efforts of Ethiopian diplomacy—on Eritrea.
Immediately following the summit it was announced that Ethiopian Airlines would resume flights to Asmara the following Monday, 16 July. The state-run Ethiopian Press Agency reported that Ethiopian Airlines would additionally take a 20% stake in Eritrean Airlines, although as of 9 July 2018 this has not yet been confirmed by the management of either airline.
President Isaias made a reciprocal visit to Ethiopia the week immediately following the summit, from 14–16 July. Speaking at a state luncheon hosted by President Mulatu Teshome, Isaias affirmed the unity of Eritrea and Ethiopia, saying "henceforth, anyone who says Eritreans and Ethiopians are two different peoples is one that doesn't know the truth." He visited an industrial park in Awassa and presided over the re-opening of the Eritrean Embassy.
On 11 September 2018, Eritrea–Ethiopia border crossings reopened for the first time since 1998, at Serha–Zalambesa and Debaysima–Burre. In October 2019, Abiy was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work brokering peace.