Once bitter foes, Ethiopia, Eritrea promise ‘bridge of love’

Bloomberg

Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a declaration of peace and agreed to reestablish key economic links after an unprecedented summit between the Horn of Africa nations’ leaders that marked the end of almost two decades of strife.
The announcements by an Eritrean official and the Ethiopian state-owned broadcaster Fana followed Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s visit to the Eritrean capital, Asmara, for talks with President Isaias Afwerki and their decision to restore diplomatic relations.
Landlocked Ethiopia will resume using Eritrea’s ports, which have been closed to it since Eritrea won independence in the early 1990s, and flights, telecommunications links and embassies are being reestablished. “To all Ethiopians and Eritreans, congratulations,” Abiy said during the visit in a television address.
“There is no border between Ethiopia and Eritrea; instead we have built a bridge of love.”
Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said that the two leaders on Monday signed a joint declaration that ended the state of war and pledged cooperation in political, economic and security matters.
The rapprochement between the former bitter enemies was another sign of sweeping change in Ethiopia since Abiy, 42, took office in April.
Facing unrest, protests and displacement of people that have threatened to derail a boom in Africa’s fastest growing economy, Abiy and his ruling party lifted a state of emergency and accelerated long-awaited market reforms.

‘Moving Forward’
With his trip to Asmara, Abiy has begun to close a bloody chapter in his nation’s history: a 1998-2000 border war
that claimed as many as 100,000 lives and left thousands of Ethiopian and Eritrean families divided.
“Moving forward, war is not needed between Ethiopia and Eritrea,” Abiy said in the broadcast. “What we need is to work hard and for peace to rapidly transform and repay the debt of the 20 years and transform the relations of the two countries to greater heights.”
Abiy’s administration has also announced plans to open up state monopolies including sugar, airlines, and telecommunications to foreign investors. The ruling coalition, which holds all seats in parliament, has begun to allow opposition political groups and thousands of detainees have been released.
Eritrea, which sits on a key shipping strait linking the Red Sea and Suez Canal, is a one-party state where adults must undertake 18 months of government service.
As recently as 2015, Eritreans were the fourth-biggest group risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean, after Syrians, Afghans and Iraqis, according to the United Nations.
Until now, Ethiopia has been forced to rely on Djibouti and Sudan for access to the sea. But since Abiy came to office, the authorities in Addis Ababa have moved quickly to improve the nation’s transportation links to the outside world and announced plans to reestablish a navy disbanded in 1996.