President Isaias Afwerki of Eritea, on Monday, arrived Ethiopia for a three days working visit.
Afwerki – who is accompanied by his Foreign Minister, Osman Saleh, and his adviser Yemane Ghebreab – is expected to discuss further enhancement of bilateral ties as well as the consolidation of regional cooperation with his host, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Ethiopia and Eritrea ended two decades of tension in 2018 and signed a peace deal.
Eritrean Minister for Information, Yemane Gebremeskel, said that the visit was initiated by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
“The two Heads of State will hold extensive consultations on further enhancement of bilateral ties as well as the consolidation of regional cooperation,” he said in a Twitter post.
The visit came in the wake of accusation by Tigrean People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) leaders, specifically from the former minister of foreign affairs Seyoum Mesfin, that “Abiy Ahmed let the Eritrean president Isaias Afeworki rape Ethiopia.”
Afwerki flew directly to Jimma city, in the Oromo region of Ethiopia, where he was received by Abiy Ahmed.
The last time the Eritrean president visited Ethiopia was in May 2019 soon after Ethiopia declared a state of emergency as part of preventive measures against the spread of the Coronavirus disease, and this is for the sixth time for him to visit the country since the two countries ended hostile relation in July 2018 following Abiy Ahmed’s take over of office as prime minister.