The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea met with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, in Jeddah on Sunday to sign a historic peace deal between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the State of Eritrea, and issued the following statement:
“In light of well-established relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and the State of Eritrea, and given the firm interest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to ensure peace, security, and stability between the two African countries, a meeting was convened this day of Sunday, 16 September 2018 (corresponding to 6/1/1440H) between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia; His Excellency the President of the State of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki; and His Excellency the Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the State of Eritrea.
The meeting was attended by His Excellency United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders expressed their appreciation for the tremendous and continued support of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence for the peace deal Ethiopia and Eritrea reached to end a 20-year conflict between them.
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. 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. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques welcomed the signing of Jeddah Agreement between the two countries, expressing hope that this agreement would strengthen the ties of friendship and cooperation between them, thus achieving peace and security for the two countries and reflecting positively on the security and stability of the whole region.”
