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Ethiopia's Abiy Meets Eritrean Leader For First Time Since Winning Nobel

AFP

   ADDIS ABABA - Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki flew to Addis Ababa
   Wednesday for his first meeting with the Ethiopian prime minister since
   Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize for initiating a thaw between the
   sparring neighbors.

   Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war in 1998-2000 that left an
   estimated 80,000 dead before a prolonged stalemate took hold.

   Shortly after he came to power last year, Abiy, 43, stunned observers
   at home and abroad by reaching out to Isaias and creating momentum for
   a peace deal.

   Abiy welcomed Isaias at Addis Ababa's Bole International Airport,
   Ethiopia's state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate said.

   "During his stay in Ethiopia, the Eritrean president is expected to
   meet with Ethiopian officials to discuss bilateral issues," Fana said.

   Isaias was accompanied by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh and Yemane
   Gebreab, a presidential advisor, according to a post on Twitter by
   Eritrean Information Minister Yemane G. Meskel.

   "The two leaders will discuss enhancement of important bilateral &
   regional matters," Yemane wrote.

   Abiy's office and a spokesman for Ethiopia's foreign affairs ministry
   did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

   After the two leaders first met and embraced on the tarmac in Asmara,
   the Eritrean capital, last year, they reopened embassies, resumed
   flights and held a series of meetings across the region.

   But the initial optimism fueled by these gestures has faded, and
   citizens of both countries complain that they are still waiting for
   meaningful change.

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