The former enemies of the war, Ethiopia, and Eritrea are getting closer and closer: the heads of state of the two countries have come together for a meeting in Addis Ababa. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki has arrived for a visit to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. It is the first trip by an Eritrean leader to Ethiopia for 22 years. Afwerki replies that the visit of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed earlier this week. There they had signed a peace declaration in which they had agreed on a comprehensive cooperation.

Afwerki was received at the airport with military honors. Thousands of Ethiopians lined the road from the airport to the city center, which was decorated with flags of the two states.

Abi’s chief of staff Fitsum Arega wrote on Twitter: “Welcome home, President Isaias.”

Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebre Meskel described the meeting as historic and stated that the visit would “drive the common march towards peace and cooperation”. The rapprochement indicates “promising changes” in the region, he also wrote on Twitter. The visit of Afwerki should take three days. He will attend the reopening of the Eritrean Embassy and visit an industrial park with his delegation.

The current peace efforts are a turnaround in relations between the two countries. Eritrea split from Ethiopia in the early 1990s following a three-decade-long war and declared independence in 1993. Ethiopia thus lost direct access to the Red Sea. From 1998 to 2000, the states again fought against each other because of a border conflict. In the process, around 80,000 people were killed. The so-called Algiers Agreement ended the conflict in 2000, but the hostility remained.

Aid organizations warn of humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia, however, peace is not everywhere: in the south of the country, bloody clashes have erupted between rival populations since April. International aid organizations are therefore warning of a humanitarian crisis. In June alone, more than 800,000 people fled the fighting. According to UN organizations, about 1.8 million people were already fleeing the country before the new wave of violence.