By the Gazette Editorial Board It is much to be hoped that the recent visit paid by a high ranking Eritrean delegation to Ethiopia will be the start of mending relations between the two neighbouring countries that were once a united nation. A long border conflict between the two has brought tension to the entire Horn of Africa and had a negative effect on the economies of both countries. With good intentions and a strong will to settle border conflicts and restore good ties, cooperation and reconciliation could replace enmity and hatred that coloured relations between them. In his press conference with President Sisi in Cairo on his first visit to Egypt last month, the new Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, revealed how some African countries had wasted years plotting against each other and gained nothing in return but losses. Dr Abiy spoke of his sincere desire to restore good relations with Eritrea and other African countries so as to serve the development of all countries. His message, in which he expressed readiness to honour all the terms of the peace deal signed in 2000 to end the dispute that erupted between the two countries after Eritrea's independence, clearly reached the Eritrean capital . Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30 year conflict, but a border war five years later killed thousands. Diplomatic ties have been cut between the two countries for almost 20 years. A peace agreement was reached in 2000. It called for an end to hostilities and respect for the ruling of the UN border commission, which delivered its verdict in 2002.Ethiopia did not accept the boundary commission's ruling which called for the withdrawal of its troops from the border town of Badme. Ahead of receiving the Eritrean delegation led by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh to Addis Ababa this week, Dr Abiy expressed the hope of putting a full end to the enmity between the two countries: "Let this dispute conclude with this generation. Let the era of love and reconciliation commence." Along with the great reception accorded to the visiting delegation, Ethiopia's Abiy expressed the desire to settle all causes of dispute between the two countries and build on the historical fraternal relations of the two nations. This dream can easily be fulfilled with wise leadership. An Ethiopia-Eritrea reconciliation move could reach its target. Why not? The Koreas gave the world such an example earlier. Long years of enmity and an arms race between the two Koreas ended with a simple invitation from the South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, to the North Korean athletes to take part in the Winter Olympics held early this year in Seoul. The North Korean regime responded positively to the invitation and made it a cause for resuming dialogue and good relations with its southern neighbour. It would be no exaggeration to say that this good gesture that was met with a welcome from North Korea was why Pyongyang agreed to hold talks with Washington on the denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula. Despite the involvement of various foreign and regional parties in the Korean dispute that could hinder, or at least delay, the full restoration of good ties between the two sides, there is hope of ending this dispute in the near future not only for the welfare of the two nations, but for the entire Asian continent. And this is entirely due to the presence of wise leaders who realise the benefits of fostering fraternity and cooperation between nations rather than enmity and hatred.
