ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia rolled out the red carpet for Eritrea’s top diplomat on Tuesday as the two nations took the next step in a historic initiative aimed at ending decades of conflict and hostility.

The thaw between the foes who fought a bitter border war 20 years ago comes after an olive branch was dramatically offered by new Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.

As Eritrea’s top diplomat Osman Saleh and presidential adviser Yemane Gebreab landed at Addis Ababa’s airport, Abiy was there to greet them, leading the pair along a red carpet past traditional dancers, local celebrities and a brass band.

The welcome included Ethiopian culture and sports personalities, among them legendary long-distance runner Haile Gebrselassie.

“The relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea is about more than the border. When we make peace, it will benefit all of east Africa,” Ethiopia’s foreign affairs spokesman Meles Alem said at the airport.

The meeting comes just three days after a blast at a rally attended by Abiy — a sign, analysts say, of the risks the 42-year-old prime minister has taken with a programme that embraces the biggest reforms, at home and abroad, in a generation.

Earlier this month, Abiy said he would abide by a 2002 ruling, issued by a United Nations-backed commission, and withdraw from contested territory, including Badme, a town claimed by both sides.

Last week, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki responded, saying he would dispatch a delegation “to gauge current developments directly and in depth as well as to chart out a plan for continuous future action.” He stopped short of calling it a peace delegation but an official visit alone marks a dramatic shift in relations long mired in suspicion and bloody hostility.

The last time Ethiopian and Eritrean troops fought head-on was just two years ago, with each side claiming victory in response to what they said was the other’s aggression.

A former province, Eritrea voted for separation from its much larger southern neighbour in 1993 following a three-decade independence war.

But just five years later, a new border war erupted between the two countries, killing around 80,000 people before it ended in a stalemate in 2000.

Ethiopia ignored a subsequent ruling that it should withdraw from territory awarded to Eritrea.

Since then, a tense standoff has persisted with both maintaining a war footing, shots occasionally fired and with each side backing the other’s rebels.

The apparent detente in recent weeks has raised hopes of a normalisation of relations that might boost regional trade and ease tensions.

Their long cold war has stymied economic development, frozen political relations and helped justify domestic repression.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2018