Stay Curious. Stay Connected.
MailNewsletters♡Donate Now
Sign up
*Password must be at least 8 characters and contain one uppercase letter, one lowercase letter, one number and one symbol.
Already have an account?
By submitting, you consent that you are at least 18 years of age and to receive information about MPR's or APMG entities' programs and offerings. The personally identifying information you provide will not be sold, shared, or used for purposes other than to communicate with you about MPR, APMG entities, and its sponsors. You may opt-out at any time clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email communication. View our Privacy Policy.
Sign in to your profile
Forgot Password?
New to MPR News?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Reset Password

Enter the username on file and we'll send you a code to reset your password.

Still require assistance or not sure what your User Name is?
Welcome back
to news
for you
Email Verification

A verification code has been emailed to

Still awaiting the code?
Associated Press
Mogadishu, Somalia

Somali leader makes first visit to Eritrea in diplomatic thaw

Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed
Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed speaks at his inauguration ceremony in Mogadishu, Somalia, on Feb. 22, 2017. Somalia's president has begun a visit to Eritrea on Saturday July 28, 2018, in another possible diplomatic thaw in the restless Horn of Africa region. The two nations have not had diplomatic relations for nearly 15 years.
Farah Abdi Warsameh | AP 2017

Go Deeper.

Create an account or log in to save stories.

Log inCreate a free Account

Like this?

Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.

Show me!

Another diplomatic thaw was underway Saturday in the restless Horn of Africa region as Somalia's president visited Eritrea for the first time and years of tensions gave way to an embrace.

"Somalia is ready to write a new chapter of its relations with Eritrea," Abdinur Mohamed, a spokesman for President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, announced on Twitter.

The two nations have not had diplomatic ties for nearly 15 years. Eritrea, one of the world's most closed-off nations, remains under United Nations sanctions for allegedly supporting the Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group. Eritrea denies it.

Eritrea's information minister, Yemane Meskel, said the three-day visit came at the invitation of President Isaias Afwerki, who has led since independence in 1993. "Both leaders have already held a summit," the minister said on Twitter, sharing photos of the meeting.

"Wind of change is here to stay in the Horn of Africa," one Eritrean diplomat, the ambassador to Japan Estifanos Afeworki, said on Twitter.

The visit by Somalia's leader follows a stunning diplomatic thaw in recent weeks between Eritrea and neighboring Ethiopia after more than two decades. Ethiopia under reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed already has asked that the U.N. sanctions on Eritrea be dropped.

The U.N. secretary-general has indicated that the sanctions could be obsolete.

Abiy is set to visit Minneapolis on Monday.

The changing relations in the Horn of Africa region are of interest to the wealthy Gulf states just across the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Already they have been jostling for influence in the African nations along one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, including both Somalia and Eritrea. Landlocked Ethiopia also eyes both countries' ports as outlets for its fast-growing economy.

The United Arab Emirates, which set up a military base at Eritrea's post of Assab after a Saudi-led coalition launched its war against Shiite rebels in Yemen in 2015, has played a role in mending relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia, in recent days hosting the leaders of both countries and praising their "bold" gestures.

Somalia remains fragile under the threat of al-Shabab, which holds some rural areas and often carries out high-profile suicide bombings in the capital, Mogadishu. A truck bombing in October killed more than 500 people in the deadliest attack in the country's history.