NAIROBI (Reuters) - Ethiopia reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Thursday, the state-affiliated Ethiopian Fana Broadcasting said, a further sign of improving ties after the Horn of Africa neighbours signed a peace accord on July 9.

Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly in the past two months to end two decades of hostility since conflict erupted in 1998.

Fana Broadcasting said Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki had reopened the embassy in Asmara in a brief ceremony and it named Redwan Hussein as the new Ethiopian ambassador.

In July, Eritrea reopened its embassy in Ethiopia and named an ambassador to represent it.

Abiy held his second face-to-face meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Wednesday since the July accord.

The two are due to hold a summit meeting later on Thursday with Somalia’s President Mohamed Abdullahi.

It is Abdullahi’s second visit to Eritrea since July 30 and the latest sign of thawing relations across the Horn of Africa following Eritrea’s rapprochement with Ethiopia. </s> Ethiopia has reopened its embassy in Eritrea after a 20-year hiatus, in a further sign of improving relations between the neighbours who signed a peace accord earlier this year.

A brief reopening ceremony in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, on Thursday was attended by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki and senior officials of both countries, according to state-affiliated Ethiopian Fana Broadcasting.

Redwan Hussein was named the new Ethiopian ambassador.

Since signing an agreement in Asmara to restore ties on July 9, leaders from both countries have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility that followed the conflict in 1998.

In July, Eritrea reopened its embassy in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and named an ambassador to represent it.

Air links were also re-established with Ethiopian Airlines commencing direct passenger flights between Addis Ababa and Asmara.

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Once a province of Ethiopia, Eritrea seceded in 1993 after a long independence struggle. A dispute over the demarcation of their shared border triggered the conflict.

The Horn of Africa nations remained at loggerheads since Ethiopia rejected a United Nations ruling and refused to cede to Eritrea land along the countries' border following the 1998-2000 war.

Elevated to the premiership in April, Abiy announced in June that Ethiopia would give up its claim to the disputed border territories that triggered the fighting.

The new Ethiopian prime minister said Addis Ababa will fully implement the UN-backed peace agreement which awarded the territories to Asmara. </s> NAIROBI, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders reopened Ethiopia's embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Thursday, state affiliated Ethiopian Fana Broadcasting said.

Fana Broadcasting said Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki re-opened the embassy in a brief ceremony.

Since signing an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility since conflict erupted between the two neighbours in the Horn of Africa in 1998. (Writing by George Obulutsa Editing by Ingrid Melander) </s> The embassy reopening follows a recent diplomatic thaw between the East African neighbours, on the impetus of Ethiopia's new reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

"Re-opening of the Ethiopian Embassy in Asmara today: Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki hoist Ethiopian Flag," Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel tweeted.

Eritrea opened its embassy in Addis Ababa on July 16.

The two countries cut all diplomatic ties after the 1998-2000 border war that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.

Earlier this year, Abiy accepted a border agreement Ethiopia had previously rejected, and the two countries officially declared peace.

Ethiopian, Eritrean and Somalian officials are currently in Asmara for a tripartite meeting.

Eritrea's information minister said the meeting "invokes the close ties of geography, history, culture, religion and vital common interests of the peoples of the three countries." </s> Ethiopia reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital on Thursday, state media reported, the latest step in restoring ties after the two nations ended decades of conflict.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a peace pact in July, ending the hostilities that began with a two-year border war in 1998 and degenerated into 18 years of stalemated relations.

Abiy had arrived in Eritrea on Wednesday for his second visit since taking office, inspecting the Red Sea nation’s two main ports before travelling to the capital Asmara.

“Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki reopened the embassy in a brief ceremony,” Ethiopia’s state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported on Thursday.

Abiy, Isaias and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who joined the leaders in Asmara, had on Wednesday signed an agreement to “build close political, economic, social, cultural and security ties”, according to Eritrea’s information ministry. — AFP </s> Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders reopened Ethiopia’s embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Thursday, state affiliated Ethiopian Fana Broadcasting said.

Fana Broadcasting said Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki re-opened the embassy in a brief ceremony.

Since signing an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of hostility since conflict erupted between the two neighbours in the Horn of Africa in 1998.

NAN reports that the two countries resumed transport, trade and telecommunication ties.

The regional bloc known for mediating South Sudan’s ongoing peace talks, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), lauded the dramatic diplomatic breakthrough between Ethiopia and Eritrea and praised Abiy for “wise and courageous leadership in … normalizing relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea.”

IGAD also said it looks forward to Eritrea rejoining the regional bloc and “taking its rightful place of collectively advancing peace and development in our region.”

Eritrea left the regional group a decade ago when accused the bloc of serving Ethiopia’s interests.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, also endorsed the resumption of relations between the once warring countries, hailing the developments as “an amazing success! These kinds of developments give us hope. </s> Ethiopia has reopened its embassy in Eritrea, the latest step in rapidly improving bilateral ties that have reversed two-decades of conflict between the two countries.

Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting company said Thursday that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reopened the embassy in the Eritrean capital of Asmara during a brief ceremony with President Isaias Afwerki. The two men will hold a three-way summit with Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed later in the day.

Relations between the Horn of Africa neighbors have improved since Prime Minister Abiy announced in June that Addis Ababa would finally honor a U.N.-brokered deal signed in 2000 to end a two-year border war that killed an estimated 70,000 people. The war was followed by nearly two decades of cold war, proxy conflicts and, at times, open hostilities.

The announcement led to a historic peace deal signed last month by Abiy and Afwerki that formally ended one of Africa’s longest, most intractable conflicts.

Eritrea, a former province of Ethiopia, broke away from its much larger neighbor in 1993. </s> Leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea were present at the official reopening of the Ethiopian embassy in Asmara on Thursday. The latest development is a significant leg of a peace deal reached in July 2018.

After Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki signed the July 9 deal, Afwerki visited Addis Ababa for a three-day visit during which period the Eritrean embassy in Ethiopia was officially reopened. Both countries have also named ambassadors.

The leaders jointly raised the Ethiopian flag in front of the embassy as a military band played the Ethiopian anthem. A cultural display was also on the side according to photos shared on social media.

PM Abiy Ahmed stopped in Eritrea on his way back from Beijing where he attended the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation.

He has since held talks with his host and signed a tripartite agreement between Ethiopia, Somalia, and Eritrea to strengthen multilateral ties. The Somali president arrived in Asmara for the event which took place on Wednesday evening.

Eritrea formally seceded from Ethiopia in 1993 after a long battle for independence, but the two fought a border war in 1998 that claimed lives of at least 80,000.

A peace deal was signed two years later but Ethiopia refused to implement it, saying it wanted more talks.

The armies of both nations have both been facing off across their border since the war ended and security dominates both countries concerns.

The rapprochement was set in motion after Abiy in April became Ethiopia’s prime minister. Abiy said he would accept and implement a boundary commission’s ruling on the Eritrea border and implement sweeping political and economic reforms.

Abiy’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, said in a tweet at the time that better ties “will create the ideal conditions to address remaining strategic issues in the shared interest of the two nations.” </s> Ethiopia reopened its embassy in the Eritrean capital on Thursday, state media reported, the latest step in restoring ties after the two nations ended decades of conflict.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed signed a peace pact in July, ending the hostilities that began with a two-year border war in 1998 and degenerated into 18 years of stalemated relations.

Abiy had arrived in Eritrea on Wednesday for his second visit since taking office, inspecting the Red Sea nation's two main ports before travelling to the capital Asmara.

"Ethiopia's Prime Minister Dr Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki reopened the embassy in a brief ceremony," Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate reported on Thursday.

Abiy, Isaias and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, who joined the leaders in Asmara, had on Wednesday signed an agreement to "build close political, economic, social, cultural and security ties", according to Eritrea's information ministry.

Also on Wednesday, an Ethiopian cargo ship arrived in Eritrea's Massawa port to transport zinc to China, marking the formal reopening of Eritrean ports to Ethiopian trade.

Eritrea was once a province of its larger southern neighbour and comprised its entire coastline.

After a bloody, decades-long independence struggle, Eritrea voted in 1993 to separate, rendering Ethiopia landlocked.

The two countries then went to war from 1998 to 2000 after a border dispute turned violent.

A 2002 UN-backed boundary demarcation was meant to settle the dispute for good, but Ethiopia refused to abide by it and held on to disputed territory meant to be under Eritrean control.

Elevated to the premiership in April, Abiy announced in June that Ethiopia would hand back the disputed areas including the flashpoint town of Badme where the first shots of the border war were fired.

During his visit this week, Abiy also inspected the road leading from Assab, the other major Eritrean port, to the Ethiopian border, his chief of staff Fitsum Arega tweeted.

However it remains unclear when the heavily militarised Ethiopia-Eritrea border will formally open or when Ethiopian forces will withdraw from the disputed areas. </s> Ethiopia has appointed an ambassador to Eritrea for the first time in 20 years, state-affiliated media reported Thursday, the latest in a series of dizzying peace moves between the neighbours.

The announcement follows a flurry of diplomacy between the former enemies that included visits between their leaders and the first commercial flights between their capitals in two decades.

"Redwan Hussein has been appointed as Ethiopia's ambassador to Eritrea -- the first for 20 years, the foreign ministry said," according to Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate.

Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki reopened his country's embassy in Ethiopia on Monday during a three-day official visit to Addis Ababa.

However there has been no report of the reopening of the Ethiopian embassy in Asmara.

Once a province of Ethiopia, Eritrea voted to leave in 1993 after a bloody, decades-long independence struggle.

Ethiopia and Eritrea expelled each others' envoys at the start of a 1998-2000 border war that killed around 80,000 people.

Relations remained frozen after Ethiopia declined to accept a 2002 United Nations-backed border demarcation, leading to years of cold war between the two countries.

Last month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced Ethiopia would accept the demarcation and cede land to Eritrea. However, it has not yet announced the withdrawal of troops from the area.

Abiy has pursued an aggressive reform agenda since taking office in April, including making peace with Eritrea, releasing jailed dissidents and liberalising parts of the economy.

After declaring his intention to make peace on June 5, events have moved at breakneck speed.

Abiy visited Asmara a month later, announcing the normalisation of diplomatic and economic ties, and on July 9, the two leaders signed a joint declaration declaring the end of the war.

On Wednesday two packed Ethiopian Airlines flights became the first commercial services to link Asmara and Addis Ababa for two decades.
Ethiopia reopens its embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara. After the 1998-2018 Eritrean–Ethiopian War, both countries signed a peace accord in July 2018. Also in July, Eritrea reopened its embassy in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.