Ireland to establish diplomatic ties

Ireland is to establish diplomatic relations with Eritrea, an Irish government official confirmed to IRIN on Wednesday.

Ronan Corvin, the Irish charge d'affaires to Tanzania, said his appointment as charge d'affaires to Eritrea had been announced by the foreign ministry in Dublin and he would be presenting his credentials to President Isayas Afewerki. The appointment is on a non-resident basis, he added.

The Irish defence minister, Michael Smith, is currently visiting Eritrea. On Tuesday, he held talks with President Isayas who said he hoped the visit would "lay the foundation" for diplomatic ties and for development cooperation.

According to Eritrean radio, Smith also met his Eritrean counterpart General Sebhat Ephrem and the commissioner for coordination with the UN peacekeeping mission, Brigadier General Abrehaly Kifle. Ireland has 221 troops as part of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), and the two sides discussed aspects of the mission, as well as next month's international ruling on border demarcation between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Ireland's announcement comes amid cool relations between Asmara and the European Union - Eritrea's biggest development partner - following last year's expulsion of the Italian ambassador, Antonio Bandini, who was also the EU representative. Eritrea accused him of interfering in domestic issues. Last month, the European Parliament issued a resolution expressing concern over the human rights situation in the country.

A spokesman for the Irish foreign ministry told IRIN however that the European Parliament resolution did not really affect ties between Eritrea and Ireland. "While we stand shoulder to shoulder with our European colleagues on human rights issues, we are trying to build our relationship with Eritrea and cement our ties," he said.

He stressed that relations had been growing in recent times. "The establishment of diplomatic relations will serve to formalise bilateral links between the two countries," he said. He pointed out that previously, exchanges between Eritrea and Ireland were conducted through multilateral organisations such as as the European Union or the United Nations. The spokesman added that Ireland had given Eritrea emergency and rehabilitation aid this year amounting to 700,000 euros (about US $612,000).

Reacting to the move by Ireland, Eritrea's deputy ambassador to Kenya, Teweldemedhin Tesfamariam, said it was a "very welcome development". But, he added, it was "long overdue". "Given the similarity of our struggles for independence from a bigger neighbour, this must only be the first step towards greater relations between our two countries," he told IRIN.