The 2018 Eritrea–Ethiopia summit (also 2018 Eritrea–Ethiopia peace summit) was a bilateral summit that took place on 8–9 July 2018 in Asmara, Eritrea, between Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and officials from the two countries.
The two leaders signed a joint declaration on 9 July, formally ending the border conflict between both countries, restoring full diplomatic relations, and agreeing to open their borders to each other for persons, goods and services. The joint statement was also considered to close all chapters regarding the Eritrean–Ethiopian War (1998–2000) and of the following Eritrean–Ethiopian border conflict (2000–2018) with sporadic clashes.
Background
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 following the 30-year Eritrean War of Independence, and subsequent border disputes caused continuing tension between the two nations. The tensions came to a crisis point in May 1998, and Eritrea invaded Ethiopia, leading to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War; this killed between 70,000–100,000 on both sides and left Eritrea with over a third of its territory occupied and more than 650,000 people displaced.
In 2000, the two countries signed the Algiers Agreement agreeing to submit to binding arbitration to resolve boundary and restitution questions. Eritrea was awarded most of the disputed territory by the Permanent Court of Arbitration, but Ethiopia still occupied most of the disputed land as of 2017. The result was a frozen conflict state of "no war, no peace" and prolonged tensions between the two countries. Each country accused the other of hosting terrorist movements aimed at fomenting regime change, and both remained closed societies; Ethiopia was an authoritarian dominant-party state ruled by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), and Eritrea is a totalitarian one-party state ruled by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). Presidential and parliamentary elections in Eritrea have been indefinitely postponed and have never been held since independence.
Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of Ethiopia from 2012 to 2018, was unable to make progress toward resolving tensions with Eritrea, and his tenure saw repeated waves of protest against the repressive political atmosphere. After he resigned in 2018, he was replaced by Abiy Ahmed, who promised in his inaugural address to negotiate an end to the Ethio-Eritrean conflict.
Announcement and preparations
On 5 June 2018, the Executive Committee of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front announced its intention to accept and fully implement the 2002 ruling of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) established under the auspices of the Permanent Court of Arbitration pursuant to the 2000 Algiers Agreement. In a statement, the EPRDF called for Eritrea to reciprocate and implement the peace deal without preconditions.
The decision came as a surprise, representing a reversal of sixteen years of Ethiopian policy. While cause for optimism across much of Ethiopia, in the Tigray Region, under whose jurisdiction most of the disputed territories fall, the announcement sparked protest, including in the disputed town of Badme itself and amongst war veterans. On 13 June 2018 the executive committee of the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front denounced, inter alia, the decision to hand over Badme as "fundamentally flawed", saying that the ruling coalition suffered from a "fundamental leadership deficit". Ethnic Irobs living in the border areas currently under Ethiopian administration organised a protest to condemn the decision to accept the boundary commission's ruling, fearing the division of their community. In a question-and-answer session in Parliament on 11 June, Abiy defended his peace initiative, saying: "I was standing in [Badme] when we put up our flag, and I cried. Many of my friends who fought in that war, we had to bury", alluding to his own service during the conflict.