SEE - July 14: In a historical visit shadowed by dancing and cheers, Eritrea's longtime president arrived in Ethiopia for his first visit in 22 years on Saturday amid a dramatic diplomatic thaw between the once-bitter rivals, AP reported.
Thousands turned out in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa under tight security to welcome President Isaias Afwerki, whose three-day visit is the latest step in ending a long state of war. "Welcome home President Isaias!!" the Ethiopian prime minister's chief of staff tweeted. The two leaders also are expected to attend a concert of about 25,000 people on Sunday featuring local artists
The old Eritrean embassy in Addis Ababa has undergone a rapid renovation and is expected to open on Monday with Isaias attending.
Ethiopia's reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed made a similar visit to Eritrea's capital last weekend, welcomed by Isaias with hugs and laughter.
The 42-year-old Abiy broke the ice last month by fully embracing a peace deal that ended a 1998-2000 border war that killed tens of thousands and left families separated. A series of diplomatic breakthroughs quickly followed as one of Africa's longest-running conflicts neared an end.
The gesture of peace with Eritrea has been the most surprising. The country of 5 million people perched on the Red Sea has been ruled by Isaias since gaining independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after years of rebel warfare. While the two countries share close cultural ties, the border war and Ethiopia's later refusal to hand over disputed border areas was used by the 72-year-old Isaias to keep Eritrea in a state of military readiness, with a system of compulsory conscription that led thousands of Eritreans to flee toward Europe and elsewhere.
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