The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea on Sunday, Sept. 16 signed a historic peace treaty during a summit in Jedda, Saudi Arabia which signifies the end of a 20-year war between both nations.
The signing of the deal in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, follows the re-opening of crossing points on their shared border.
An estimated 80,000 people are reported to have been killed in the war that broke out in 1998 to 2000 over border and other issues.
“The peace deal resulted in restoration of normal relations between the countries, on the basis of the close bonds of geography, history and culture between the two nations and their peoples,” Saudi Arabia said in a statement Sunday, calling the accord the “Jiddah Agreement.”
“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia praised the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea for exercising leadership and courage to restore the brotherly relations between the two countries, thus forming the foundation for a new phase that will bring significant developments in the relations between the two nations in all fields,”
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the treaty ‘historic’
