Following a decision made last July, on 6 September, the Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed Ali, signed a peace agreement called  the “Gedda Pact.” The agreement which came about under the mediation of Saudi Arabia, the United Nations, the African Union and the United Arab Emirates, puts an end to a state of war between the two nations which continued also after the end of the conflict which lasted from 1998 to 2000 for territorial issues. The peace pact furthermore foresees, as per official communications, the opening of the embassies in the respective capitals, the resumption of road connections and use of Eritrean ports by Ethiopia and normal relations between the two countries “on the basis of the close geographic, historical and cultural bonds between the nations and their respective peoples.”

The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, highlighted the importance of the Agreement, and defined the event as a “strong wind of hope in the Horn of Africa.” Meanwhile, a few days ago, the border between the two countries was reopened and many families,  divided for twenty years were able to reunite.

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