Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali on Saturday arrived in the Eritrean capital Asmara for a working visit. He was received at the airport by his host President Isaias Afwerki at the airport.
“The two leaders will discuss further consolidation of the warm bilateral ties between the two countries as well as enhancement of regional cooperation,” Eritrea Information Minister said in a tweet.
“In their extensive meeting today, President Afwerki PM Abiy Ahmed reviewed the progress achieved and obstacles encountered in the past two years in the implementation of the historic Declaration of Peace and Friendship signed between the two countries in July 2018,” the Minister added.
Abiy was with his wife along with State Minister Ambassador Redwan Hussein and Speaker of Parliament Mr. Tagesse Chaffo. It is Abiy’s first visit outside Ethiopia since the deadly internal crisis that followed the assassination of a prominent Oromo artiste.
The second anniversary of the peace deal occured in the midst of the deadly protests that saw over 260 people killed and scores arrested. Internet was also cut across the country and only restored after over two weeks.
Eritrea in a statement on the anniversary stressed that the peace deal remained robust and compact despite the efforts of unnamed detractors to derail it.
The two sides agreed to further bolster the prevailing, all-rounded, cooperation between the two countries. They also agreed to work together to enhance regional cooperation in the Horn firmly aware that this is pivotal for nurturing robust ties anchored on mutual complementarity pic.twitter.com/k4VvetYwVA— Yemane G. Meskel (@hawelti) July 18, 2020
Accompanied by President Isaias Afwerki, Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed and his delegation visited agricultural and infrastructural development projects in the Southern Region in the afternoon hours today. pic.twitter.com/q2FdAV3K7u— Yemane G. Meskel (@hawelti) July 18, 2020
July 9: Ethio-Eritrea deal progressing, two years on; Asmara jabs ‘detractors’
The Eritrean government says a 2018 peace deal with Ethiopia remains in good shape and was progressing despite efforts by detractors to portray it as a stalled failure.
Information Minister Yemane Meskel posted the general state of the deal which chalks its second anniversary today, July 9. “Overall progress made so far remains significant by all contemporaneous standards,” he said in a tweet.
Today is the 2nd Anniversary of the historic Eritrea-Ethiopia Peace Agreement that was signed in Asmara bringing to an end the state of intermittent wars that existed between the two countries for almost 80 years and ushered in “a new era of peace and friendship” between them pic.twitter.com/V72v3xhYOf— Yemane G. Meskel (@hawelti) July 9, 2020
Adding: “ This is in spite of the desperate, last-ditch efforts of the regressive forces of inertia and darkness – TPLF and its ilk – to scuttle and rollback enduring peace with its dividends to the two countries.”
TPLF is the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, the ruli
