Search
  1. Home
  2. East Africa
  3. Eritrea

Formal ties with Italy resumed

[Eritrea] President Isayas Afewerki UN
President Isayas
    NAIROBI

    Eritrea and Italy have resumed formal diplomatic relations, eight months after Eritrea expelled Italy's ambassador from the country.

    Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi met in Rome last week, on the sidelines of World Food Summit. The official Shaebia website described the talks as "open and candid".

    It was the first time the two men had met since the Italian ambassador, Antonio Bandini, was asked to leave the country after he protested against the government's detention of dissident politicians. Bandini was also the representative of the European Union in Eritrea.

    Immediately after the expulsion, Eritrea’s ambassador to Italy was asked to leave Rome. The row intensified after EU diplomats in Eritrea were recalled by their governments for "consultations" on the situation.

    During his visit to Rome, Afewerki also held talks with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the EU president, Romano Prodi, during which he discussed the recent border ruling with Ethiopia. He assured them that Eritrea was working towards a speedy demarcation of the new boundary, according to Eritrean media reports.

    Before last year’s breakdown in diplomatic relations between the two countries, Italy was Eritrea’s largest donor.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

    Share this article

    Our ability to deliver compelling, field-based reporting on humanitarian crises rests on a few key principles: deep expertise, an unwavering commitment to amplifying affected voices, and a belief in the power of independent journalism to drive real change.

    We need your help to sustain and expand our work. Your donation will support our unique approach to journalism, helping fund everything from field-based investigations to the innovative storytelling that ensures marginalised voices are heard.

    Please consider joining our membership programme. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on how the world responds to crises.

    Become a member of The New Humanitarian

    Support our journalism and become more involved in our community. Help us deliver informative, accessible, independent journalism that you can trust and provides accountability to the millions of people affected by crises worldwide.

    Join