The peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea concludes a 20-year conflict

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abyi Ahmed has only been in power for three months but has already transformed his country and the entire region. At the breakthrough, he pushed dramatic changes in the stubborn and repressive structure of the Ethiopian state. Thousands of political prisoners were released (among them Swedish citizen Fikru Maru ) and the infamous prison of political prisoners was closed, police and members of the security forces responsible for torture and human rights violations. Man were laid off. authorized, the freedom of the press and the political activity of the opposition were guaranteed.

Now Ahmed has turned his energy toward Ethiopia's biggest foreign policy problem, its relations with neighboring Eritrea, and has reached a peace agreement and a solution to the 20-year-old conflict between countries by a spell. After receiving a disputed border area in Eritrea in early June, development has been rushed. Shortly after, Eritrea's longtime president, Isaiah Afwerki, sent a delegation to Addis Ababa and, on Sunday, Abiy Ahmed landed in Asmara, capital of Eritrea, for the first time. visit of an Ethiopian prime minister to Eritrea.

After a liberation war against the Ethiopian government, Eritrea declared independence in 1991. A border dispute between the countries led to 1998 a bloody new war of two years. Since then, relations have been frozen. In Ethiopia, the government was monopolized by a single party, itself dominated by tigers, one of the many ethnic groups in the country, while Eritrea became one of the most repressive regimes to the world, a country close to the outside world North Korea. President Afwerki has held the country in a tense line and his persecution of opposition and dissent has resulted in the displacement of tens of thousands of Eritreans. Eritreans are one of the largest groups of refugees who have reached Europe in recent years. Last year, 35,000 Eritreans got political asylum in Germany and 40,000 sought asylum in Italy.

In this context, it is understandable that the Ethiopians and Eritreans rubbed their eyes when they followed the meeting of the two leaders broadcast on television in Ethiopia and Eritrea. It was really a news that no one could have dreamed of three months ago. The meeting in Asmara was as sensational as the summit between Kim and Trump and, contrary to that, has already led to concrete results – a peace agreement. It is in the interest of Ethiopia and Eritrea to put an end to this conflict, which for many years has been an obstacle to peace and development throughout the region.

The Ethiopian prime minister is in a hurry to resolve old knots and conflicts to be able to implement the long-term reform of society, politically, socially and economically, as he aspires. It is only through reforms that he can make Ethiopia the main regional power, his great vision of the future. Ethiopia is expected to be the fastest growing economy in Africa this year and Abiy Ahmed does not want crises and conflicts that bother this forecast. But handcuffs and backtrackers of the old regime strike him on the neck. A few weeks ago, a bomb exploded during a massacre in Addis Ababa, where the prime minister spoke to remind that his opponent was ready to use violence to stop him.

Ekerthean President Afwerki had to realize self-determination was seriously threatened by the fact that the conflict with Ethiopia seemed to be infinite. Due to the unresolved conflict, Eritrea has one of the most powerful armies in Africa, with a three year military service. This long military service was one of the reasons that young men in large crowds moved abroad. Defense spending has wiped out most of the state's annual budget, and political oppression and arbitrariness in the country have discouraged foreign investors. Afwerki has also led the country into an isolation of foreign policy, with Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates as unique allies and not very reliable. With Djibouti, the neighboring country in the south, there is officially a state of war because of a border dispute. To get out of the stalemate, Afwerki has now chosen to take the most dramatic path: reconciliation with the sworn enemy of Ethiopia.

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