Politics

Eritrea and Ethiopia hug again after bitter 20 years, and it looks they mean it

Published

6 years ago

July 9, 2018

After 20 years of bitter border wars that led to death of thousands, Eritrea and Ethiopia on Sunday hugged again, promising to re-establish diplomatic and trade ties.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaia Afwerki made the announcement during a landmark meeting in the latter’s capital Asmara.

It is the first time the leaders from the two East African neighbours have met in almost 20 years.

Relations were severed following a border dispute which killed tens of thousands of people in the late 1990s.

A peace deal was signed in December 2000. However, Ethiopia refused to accept the final ruling of a border commission two years later, which awarded disputed territory to Eritrea, including the town of Badme. The countries have been on a war footing ever since.

Sunday’s meeting, which follows a visit to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa by an Eritrean delegation, comes after Mr Abiy said his country would accept the commission’s ruling.

In speeches broadcast live on state television on Sunday, Prime Minister Abiy and President Isaias said they had agreed to set up embassies in their respective capitals, while landlocked Ethiopia will be allowed to use Eritrean ports on the Red Sea.

The two countries will also resume flights between each other, as well as direct phone connections.

The meeting was greeted with excitement in Eritrea, where thousands of people lined the streets singing and waving both countries’ flags.

Speaking at a dinner held in his honour, Mr Abiy, who has been pursuing a reform agenda ever since taking office in April, said “war and talk of war must end”.

“Today, the Eritrean people, particularly the people of Asmara, practically showed us how stronger love is than the missiles of the day,” he added.

“Missiles, tanks, Kalashnikov and bren [light machine guns] can capture people but not their hearts. What can capture the human heart is love.”

Related Topics:Abiy Ahmed Eritrea Ethiopia Isaia Afwerki

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Politics

Rwandan foreign minister claims Congo refused M23 peace offer

Published

4 days ago

October 6, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Rwandan Foreign Minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, has claimed that his Congolese colleague had refused to sign a pact to address the M23 rebel violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Since 2022, the Tutsi-led M23 has been fighting in the violence-torn east of central Africa, displacing over 1.7 million people.

Congo, the UN, and others accuse Rwanda of providing troops and ammunition to the group. Rwanda denies aiding M23 and accuses Congo of fighting alongside the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which has attacked Tutsis in both countries.

Both nations took part in peace talks in late August to reduce the hostilities, which have exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe in the area and occasionally stoked concerns about a wider war.

Nduhungirehe told Reuters that a strategy “for neutralising the FDLR and lifting Rwanda’s defence measures” had been agreed upon and signed by participants in the negotiations, including the head of military intelligence for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He made this statement on the fringes of a conference in France between leaders of French-speaking nations, saying that ministers were expected to sign this accord on September 14.

“We were ready to sign … but the Congolese minister refused. She first commented on the report and then later, after consultation, she came back. She told us she was opposed to adopting the report.”

According to Nduhungirehe, the plan called for Rwanda to ease its “defence measures” a few days after the activities against the FDLR, however, the Congolese minister objected to these not occurring at the same time.

An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by a Congolese government representative.

Paul Kagame and Felix Tshisekedi, the leaders of Rwanda and the Congo, were present at the meeting in France. Though a three-way meeting was suggested by French President Emmanuel Macron, the two ultimately had separate private encounters with Macron.

“The situation is still too tense (for a three-way meeting),” Macron told reporters later on Saturday. It “calls for efforts on both sides,” he said calling on the two countries to reach an agreement.

Politics

Barrick Gold, Mali govt resolve issues on Loulo and Gounkoto mines

Published

1 week ago

October 1, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The government of Mali and Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) have resolved their ongoing claims and disagreements about the Loulo and Gounkoto gold mines in that West African nation, the company announced on Monday.

Two days after four Barrick employees were detained by the Malian government, the second-largest miner in the world made a statement. A new mining agreement that would allow Mali’s military-led government more control over its resources has been negotiated by the two sides. Among Africa’s top producers of gold is Mali.

According to Barrick, once the terms of the settlement have been finalised, the agreement’s specifics will be made public.

“The current negotiations have proved challenging but we’re encouraged by the government’s recognition of the importance of securing the long-term viability of the Loulo-Gounkoto complex as a substantial contributor to the Malian economy,” Barrick’s CEO, Mark Bristow, said in a statement.

It was not immediately possible to reach the Mali government for comment.

Barrick announced in July that it has made over $10 billion in economic investments in Mali during the previous 29 years.