Djibouti–Eritrea relations refers to the current and historical relationship between neighboring states

Djibouti Djibouti, 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 Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

and

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

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 (, ; born 2 February 1946) is an Eritrean politician and leader who has been the List of heads of state of Eritrea, president of Eritrea since 1993 and the chairman of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) since 1994 ...

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 (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

in the early summer of 2001. While Guelleh had close ties with Ethiopia's ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (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, 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

and

agreed to normalize their relations.

References

Bilateral relations of Eritrea {{Bilateralrelations-stub