Ethiopia’s commercial ship docks in Eritrea after two decades

After
a thorough peace deal facilitating rapid cooperation, an Ethiopian
commercial ship has docked in an Eritrean port for the first time in two
decades.

This is a concrete sign of a stunning rapprochement between the neighbours and former foes.

The
Mekelle entered the Red Sea port of Massawa and was due to carry 11,000
tonnes of Eritrean zinc to China, Ethiopian broadcaster Fana
Broadcasting reported.

Ethiopia’s
Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, offered to make peace with Eritrea after
taking office in April – part of a series of reforms that has turned
politics
on its head in his country and the region.

Landlocked
Ethiopia has said it wants to make the re-opening of two roads
connecting it to two of Eritrea’s ports a priority in the reconciliation
process.

Eritrea’s
information minister, Yemane Ghebremeskel, said on Twitter that Abiy
had arrived in Eritrea on a two-day working visit. The premier would
visit Massawa
and the capital Asmara, he added.

Abiy
first visited Eritrea in July as the countries agreed to end a
two-decade-old military standoff over their border and other issues.

Eritrea had during the peace deal promised 
to ready the port of Massawa to serve Ethiopia’s import and export traffic.

Eritrea had denied landlocked Ethiopia access to the port on the outbreak of hostilities twenty years ago.

The
head of the Massawa Port Administration, Layne Asfahaley, told
Ethiopia’s state news agency on Tuesday that the port has gone through
major renovation works
to enable it provide services to iEritrea’s former foe with which full
diplomatic relations have been restored in the last one month.

The
use of Eritrea’s port by Ethiopia would be the first landmark economic
cooperation since the two horn of Africa nations officially declared an
end to two
decades of enmity due to a border dispute.

Founded
in the 19th century and initially developed by the Italian and British
colonial authorities in the region, the Port of Massawa is the primary
port for
the trafficking of goods and services to the Eritrean markets.

The port was also a major gateway for Ethiopian trade until the border war that broke out between the two countries in 1998.

Since
then, Ethiopia without direct access to the sea has been primarily
using the port of Djibouti for access to the international market.

95 per cent of Ethiopia’s imports and exports have been transacted through the port of Djibouti over the past twenty years.

However,
the recent rapprochement between Addis Ababa and Asmara has led the way
for the re-establishment of ties including port services, and
transportation,
among others.

The
port is equipped with the necessary facilities and skilled labour and
is ready to restart its service for Ethiopia’s import-export commodities
shortly, the
head Eritrea Port Administration said.

“We
outfitted and refurbished the port facilities to the very interest of
Ethiopia’s import-export commodities and we are considering further
expansion following
the vast demand in the region” he added.

Solomon
Afewerk, a former President of the Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and
Sectoral Association (ECCSA), said there is a huge opportunity for both
countries
to be economically inter-reliant.

“The
use of the Port of Massawa can pave the way for further cooperation and
mutual benefit of the two neighbouring countries, but subsequent to the
demand from
Ethiopia, there should be expansion and development of the port to
accommodate the vast flow of import-export freights” he added

Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders have also reopened Ethiopia’s embassy in the Eritrean capital Asmara.

Since
signing an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties, Eritrean and
Ethiopian leaders have moved swiftly to sweep away two decades of
hostility since
conflict erupted between the two neighbours in the Horn of Africa in
1998.

The two countries resumed transport, trade and telecommunication ties.