NAIROBI: A high-level Ethiopian team arrived Monday in the capital of rebel-held Tigray for a first official visit following a peace deal aimed at ending a brutal two-year conflict.
The delegation visiting the Tigrayan capital Mekele will “supervise the implementation of major issues in the peace agreement” signed on Nov. 2, an Ethiopian government statement said.
The team is led by House of Peoples Representatives speaker Tagesse Chafo and includes Redwan Hussein, who is the security adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, as well as the ministers of justice, transport and communication and labor.
The head of Ethiopia’s road infrastructure authority and the heads of Ethiopian Airlines and Ethio Telecom — Mesfin Tasew and Frehiwot Tamiru — are also present.
“The delegation is the first of its stature as a high-level federal government body heading to Mekele in two years,” the statement said.
“This gesture is an attestation to the peace agreement getting on the right track and progressing,” it said.
The delegation was greeted by rebel authorities, including their spokesman Getachew Reda, Tigrayan photographs showed.
“We believe (the visit) is a milestone in the peace agreement to end the war in/on Tigray,” Getachew said in a tweet.
