Djibouti–Eritrea relations refers to the
current and historical relationship between neighboring states
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
and
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
.
Relations
During the
Eritrean-Ethiopian War (1998–2000), Ethiopia channeled most of its trade through Djibouti. Though Djibouti was nominally neutral, it broke off relations with Eritrea in November 1998, renewing relations in 2000. Eritrea's President
Isaias Afwerki
Isaias Afwerki ( ti, ኢሳይያስ ኣፍወርቂ, ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in M ...
visited Djibouti in early 2001 and Djibouti's President
Ismail Omar Guelleh made a reciprocal visit to
Asmara
Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The ...
in the early summer of 2001. While Guelleh has close ties with Ethiopia's ruling
(EPRDF), he has tried to maintain an even hand, developing relations with Eritrea.
Conflict
On June 10, 2008 fighting broke out in the
Ras Doumeira region between Djibouti and Eritrea. It resulted in Djiboutian victory and the eventual withdrawal of Eritrean forces from the border areas and the creation of a buffer zone between the two countries.
Following the
2017 Qatar diplomatic crisis
The Qatar diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic incident in the Middle East that began on 5 June 2017 when Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia#Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Qatar–United Arab Emirates relations, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain–Qatar relat ...
, Qatar withdrew its peacekeeping forces from the disputed territory. Shortly after, Djibouti accused Eritrea of reoccupying the mainland hill and Doumeira Island.
In September 2018, it was announced that
Djibouti
Djibouti, ar, جيبوتي ', french: link=no, Djibouti, so, Jabuuti officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red ...
and
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
agreed to normalize their relations.
References
Eritrea
Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia ...
Bilateral relations of Eritrea
{{Bilateralrelations-stub