President Isaias announces Eritrea to dispatch delegation to Ethiopia

Eritrea’s president announced “today that Eritrea shall dispatch delegation to Addis Ababa to a constructive engagement with Ethiopia,” Estifanos Habtemariam, Eritrea’s Ambassador to Japan, said on twitter. President Isaias Afewerki made the remarks during the Martyrs Day celebrations today.
“We will send a delegation to Addis Ababa to gauge current developments directly and in depth and to chart out a plan for continuous future action,” President Isaias said, adding, “The events and developments that have unfolded in our region in general and in Ethiopia in particular in the recent period warrant appropriate attention.”

The announcement brings to an end Eritrea’s silence since June 05 when the 36 Executive Committee members of the ruling EPRDF said in a statement that Ethiopia will fully accept the December 12, 2000 Algiers Agreement, a peace agreement between the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia, which established the Ethiopia Eritrea boundary commission (EEBC). By accepting the Algiers Agreement, Ethiopia also said it was ready to comply with the “final and binding” decision by the EEBC, which, among others, awarded the town of Badme, the flashpoint of the two years costly border war, to Eritrea.

However, Eritrea remained silent, with only a vague response on twitter from Yemane G. Meskel, Eritrea’s information minister, which indicated that Eritrea has already accepted EEBC’s decision 16 years ago.

The announcement came two days after PM Abiy Ahmed defended the government’s decision on Eritrea in a live televised session at the national parliament. Ambassador Estifanos did not mention the exact date when the delegates are expected to arrive in Ethiopia.

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