Ethiopia and Eritrea Have Officially Declared an End to Their War

Leaders from Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea have signed a declaration, officially ending their 20 year long border conflict, BBC Africa reports. The agreement puts an end to the long-standing war between the two nations.

Both Ethiopia and Eritrea have agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties and lift trade embargoes.

Though a peace deal was put into place in 2000, the countries had remained in a diplomatic stalemate since 2000, as Ethiopia had never fully adhered to the conditions of the agreement and retained troops in the disputed border region of Badme, depite the area being officially granted to Eritrea.

The meeting between Eritrea's President Isaias Afewerki and Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was the first time that leaders from the two nations had met in nearly 20 years.

Ethiopia's acceptance of the terms of the agreement mark a major shift in the political relationship between the neighborng East African countries. The decleration will undoubtedly be a major part of Ahmed's legacy of change in Ethiopia. He vowed to end the war with Eritrea earlier this year when he took office, and has delivered on that promise.