Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders share hugs and laughs at a memorable first meeting for decades

With laughter and hugs, the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea met for the first time in nearly two decades on Sunday amidst a rapid diplomatic thaw and dramatic.

The new Ethiopian reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has arrived in the Eritrean capital. A live broadcast by Eritrean public television showed President Isaias Afwerki at the airport in unthinkable scenes a few months earlier.

Crowds danced and sang for the rulers, and the streets of Asmara were paved with Ethiopian and Eritrean flags. Mr. Ahmed and Mr. Afwerki then crossed the capital in a large procession where people wearing T-shirts with photos of the two leaders applauded. The leaders then spoke one-on-one with a smiling Mr. Ahmed who was leaning over Mr. Afwerki under a wall hanging on their portraits.

The visit comes one month after Mr. Ahmed surprised the people by fully accepting a peace agreement that ended a two-year border war between the two countries. Ethiopia and Eritrea have no diplomatic relations since the beginning of the war in 1998, Mr. Ahmed himself fighter in a city that remains disputed today and the countries have since swindled in one of the longest conflicts in Africa

Fitsum Arega said on Twitter that the visit was aimed at "deepening efforts to achieve lasting peace". He shared pictures of the leadership meeting and said that Mr. Afwerki had "very warmly" received Mr. Afwerki

. "Our two nations share an unparalleled history and connection," he said. "We can now overcome two decades of mistrust and take a new direction."

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs described this visit as "an effort to normalize relations with Eritrea" and said that Ahmed should discuss with Eritrean diplomat, his ambbadador to Japan, Estifanos Afeworki, said on Twitter that "no leader has received such a warm welcome, as is the case today in Asmara in the history of the world. Eritrea »

The Ethiopians expressed a welcome shock at the meeting, which was shown live by Ethiopian state television

"History … the beginning of the end." The glbad ceiling was broken, " wrote Shewit Wudbadie, a resident, on Facebook Another Facebook user, Djphat Su, wrote: "Am I dreaming or what?"

The decision to fully accept the agreement Peace was the largest and most surprising reform announced by the 42 – year – old Ethiopian Prime Minister in April and promptly unleashed a wave of reforms, releasing journalists and opposition figures, opening the door. state economy and unlocking hundreds of websites after years of anti-government protests demanding more freedoms

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Residents watch the city flooded by heavy rains at Kurash Iki, Okayama Prefecture, in western Japan. Heavy rains left 47 dead, more than 49 people and five others in serious condition in southwest and western Japan, reported public television on July 07, 2018. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of floods in the southwest and southwest. In nine prefectures of western and southwestern Japan, the authorities issued evacuation orders to more than one million people in the southwestern and western parts of the country. Japan

EPA