Tuesday, 18/09/2018 16:13 (GMT+7)
Ethiopia and Eritrea have signed a Peace Accord at a summit in Saudi Arabia to end more than 20 years of war between the two countries.
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (left) and Eritrean Prime Minister Isaias Afwerki at a ceremony to reopen Eritrean Embassy in Ethiopia on July 16th. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
The signing ceremony was hosted on September 16th by Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea coastal city of Jeddah.
Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed the accord after arriving in Jeddah.
"The peace deal resulted in restoration of normal relations between the countries, on the basis of the close bonds of geography, history and culture between the two nations and their peoples," said a statement by Saudi Arabia, calling the accord the "Jeddah Agreement."
The King of Saudi Arabia Salman praised the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea for exercising leadership and courage to restore the brotherly relations between the two countries, thus forming the foundation for a new phase that will bring significant developments in the relations between the two nations in all fields.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the signing as an "historic event."
The UN chief also paid tribute to “the courage, the vision, and the wisdom of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, who had the capacity to overcome resistance from the past and open a new chapter in the history of his country, and also the way the President of Eritrea responded to his peace initiatives.”
Eritrea and Ethiopia signed a declaration of peace in July and agreed to re-establish economic links after an unprecedented summit between the neighbors’ leaders ended decades of enmity.
On September 11th, Ethiopia and Eritrea reopened two land border crossing points for the first time in 20 years, clearing the way for trade between the two nations./.
Compiled by BTA