Eritrean leader travels to Ethiopia as dramatic thaw continues »Manila News Bulletin

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia – The long-time president of Eritrea arrived in Ethiopia to dance and cheer his first visit for 22 years, Saturday, during a dramatic diplomatic thaw between his former rivals fierce.

"It's a historic day for all of us," said President Isaias Afwerki. Anyone who thinks that Eritreans and Ethiopians are separated is now considered naive.

Thousands of people traveled to Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, under high security to greet Isaias, whose three-day visit is the latest in ending a long-running state of war. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed made a similar visit to the capital of Eritrea last weekend, greeted by Isaias with cuddles and laughter

. Abiy, 42, broke the ice last month by fully accepting a peace deal that ended a 1998-2000 border war that left tens of thousands of people dead and families separated. A series of diplomatic breakthroughs ensued quickly as one of Africa's longest-running conflicts drew to a close.

Excited Ethiopians compared the restoration of relations with one of the most closed countries in the world to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Telephone links were opened, some Ethiopians calling for complete foreigners in Eritrea to greet each other, and Ethiopian Airlines' first scheduled flights to Eritrea begin Wednesday

. An emotional Abiyah Saturday congratulated the Ethiopians for their warm welcome by the Eritrean President. songs of "Isaias! Isaias!" and waving flag. "I am very moved right now," said Abiy at a luncheon at the National Palace

"Thanks for the sincere love you have shown us all," said Isaias in a speech delivered Saturday night. He added that "we have finally found our sister nation after many years of camouflage," and he warned those who were trying to incite violence in Ethiopia. stop or "you can lead us to take a path that we do not want to take."

A grinning Abiy also presented to the Eritrean President a camel wrapped with flowers and flags of both countries "as a symbol of the Chief of Staff of Abiy said, publishing a photo of the moment on Twitter

Saturday's exuberant scenes challenged US President Donald Trump's description of Africa two days ago as "so sad, so vicious and violent."

The international community, The United States has welcomed the meeting as a welcome development in a key, and often unstable, region along one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world and across the Arabian Peninsula.

The former embbady of Eritrea in Addis Ababa has been fast-paced and is expected to open during the Isaias visit.The two leaders are also expected to attend a Sunday concert of about 25,000 people with local artists, [19659006] Ethiopians lined the streets for a glimpse of the Isaias procession chanted songs that criticized the Tigray People's Liberation Front. the first political party of the ruling coalition and hostile to Eritrea until the new prime minister came to power in April and embarked on a wave of breathtaking reforms in the second nation the most populous of Africa

. The country of 5 million people perched on the Red Sea is ruled by Isaias since its independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after years of rebel war.

While the two countries share close cultural ties, the border war and the refusal of Ethiopia's Isaias, 72, used disputed border areas to keep Eritrea in a state of readiness military, with a compulsory conscription system that drove thousands of Eritreans to flee to Europe, Israel and other countries

. Social media said Saturday that a "dictator" like Isaias should not receive such a warm welcome.

Observers now wonder if the end of the fighting with Ethiopia will lead Eritrea, long criticized by human rights groups, to

companies are a Another center of interest is Ethiopia, a landlocked country, seeking outlets for its fast-growing economy and has already signed agreements to use the port facilities of Eritrea