Ethiopia and Eritrea have signed a new agreement during a summit in Saudi Arabia, further strengthening the historic peace deal between the two longtime rivals. Officials did not share full details of the agreement, but sources close to the Saudi government say it will reinforce the truce and improve regional security.
The signing took place in Jeddah and was hosted by Saudi King Salman, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UN Secretary-General António Guterres also attending. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir called the agreement a historic step toward greater peace and stability in the region.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki had already signed a major peace pact in July, ending 20 years of hostility that began with a border war in 1998. Last week, the two countries reopened land border crossings for the first time in two decades. They have also resumed flights, reopened embassies, and restarted trade.
Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in the early 1990s, but the two nations went to war over border issues later that decade. A UN boundary ruling in 2002 was supposed to settle the dispute, but Ethiopia rejected it. Tensions eased in June when Abiy announced that Ethiopia would return disputed areas – including Badme, where the conflict began – helping pave the way for reconciliation.
