Ethiopia to Implement Stalled Eritrea Peace Deal After 18 Years

(Bloomberg) -- Ethiopia will implement a peace deal signed at the turn of the century with Eritrea after the country’s new prime minister undertook two months ago to normalize relations with its neighboring long-time foe.

The Horn of Africa nation’s highest governing body announced the decision on Eritrea on Tuesday, 18 years after the countries signed a peace accord in the Algerian capital to end a border war that took place from 1998 to 2000 and claimed thousands of casualties. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed pledged in April that the country will “resolve problems” with Eritrea, which gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

“We have decided to fully implement the Algiers agreement and border commission decision,” the 36-member politburo of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front said a statement released by the state-run Ethiopian News Agency. “We have also decided to apply it.”

Minority Stakes

The politburo also said that the country will sell minority stakes in some of its biggest state-owned companies, including Ethiopian Airlines Enterprise and Ethiopian Telecommunications Corp. and transfer some responsibility for the construction of infrastructure to the private sector.

“Foreigners with knowledge and foreign capital can play a critical role in our growth,” it said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nizar Manek in Nairobi at nmanek2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Andre Janse van Vuuren, Pauline Bax

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