The signature of the Joint Declaration of Peace and Friendship represents an historic and courageous move by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Breaking a twenty year old deadlock in bilateral relations, it raises unprecedented prospects for reconciliation and paves the way for enhanced regional cooperation and stability in the Horn of Africa.
The European Union stands ready to mobilise the support needed to consolidate the normalisation of relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea and to build on new opportunities for regional cooperation.