Ethiopia PM Abiy wins Nobel Peace Prize

(Oslo) – Hailed as a visionary and reformer, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to resolve the long-running conflict with neighbouring foe Eritrea.

Abiy was honoured “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea,” the Nobel Committee said.

Since coming to power in April 2018, after years of civil unrest in the nation, 43-year-old Abiy Ahmed has started mending relations with Eritrea following decades of conflict between the countries.

On July 9, 2018, following a historic meeting in Eritrea´s capital Asmara, Abiy and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki formally ended a 20-year-old stalemate between the countries in the wake of the 1998-2000 border conflict.

A peace deal was signed later that year, and embassies have been reopened and flight routes between the countries resumed.

The continent´s youngest leader has instilled a certain optimism in a region of Africa marred by violence.

“There is a wind of hope blowing in the Horn of Africa,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in September 2018.

The Nobel jury stressed that the Peace Prize was “also meant to recognise all the stakeholders working for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and in the East and Northeast African regions.”

The Committee singled out Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki for praise, noting that “peace does not arise from the actions of one party alone.”

“When Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed reached out his hand, President Afwerki grabbed it, and helped to formalise the peace process between the two countries.”

The committee had to choose from more than 300 nominations this year.