Ethiopia and Eritrea decided to sign a peace deal to stop the senseless border war. Both African states are suffering from the 18-year-long armed conflict. On Tuesday, Ethiopia’s ruling party announced plans to implement a long-moribund peace deal with Eritrea.
Ethiopia and Eritrea are opening the way for improved relations after 18 years of hostility, according to the latest developments. Ethiopia’s new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, who was selected by the party in March after his predecessor resigned amid widespread unrest, made the first move. The reconciling with a historical enemy could be a major shift in Ethiopia’s economic approach.
Since 1998, Ethiopia and Eritrea were involved in the border dispute that sparked Africa’s deadliest border war. Tens of thousands of people were killed in two years of fighting, the war continues for 18 years.
“The Eritrean government should take the same stand without any prerequisite and accept our call to bring back the long-lost peace of the two brother nations as it was before,”
the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) wrote on Facebook.
PM Ahmed’s surprise announcement about peace deal also included plans to allow private sector involvement in industries long reserved for the state, in a major revision of economic policy. Since becoming prime minister, Abiy proved his intentions to be a democratic leader, he has freed hundreds of prisoners and met with outlawed opposition figures.
On Tuesday, Ethiopia’s Parliament at PM’s behest lifted a state of emergency two months early. in March, during his inauguration, Abiy also had pledged to improve ties with neighbouring country Eritrea, but few expected as dramatic a move as came out of Tuesday’s meeting of the executive committee of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front.
