President of Eritrea Visits Ethiopia as Dramatic Thaw Continues

Local Editor

Longtime Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki arrived Saturday in Ethiopia for his first visit in 22 years amid a dramatic diplomatic thaw between the once-bitter rivals.

Thousands turned out in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, under tight security to welcome Afwerki, whose visit is the latest step in ending a state of war.

A week earlier, Ethiopia's reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed broke the ice last month by fully embracing a peace deal that ended a two-year border conflict, and he visited Eritrea last weekend for hugs and talks with Isaias.

Some excited Ethiopians compared the restoration of relations with one of the world's most closed-off countries to the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Telephone links opened and the first scheduled Ethiopian Airlines flights to Eritrea begin Wednesday.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team