Eritrea, a country in Eastern Africa, has announced its rejoining of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Eastern Africa, or IGAD, six years after leaving the bloc.
IGAD is a trade bloc that aims to alleviate poverty and create effective sustainable development programs. Eritrea’s decision to leave in 2007 was made amid tensions with Ethiopia, particularly over their deployment of troops to Somalia to fight the militant Al-Shabab group. Eritrea’s information minister, Yemane Meskel, tweeted on Monday that the nation had resumed its activity in IGAD and taken its seat at the 14th ordinary summit in Djibouti.
The East African Bloc now consists of eight member states: Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 and has been led by their current president ever since. A border conflict with Ethiopia in 1998 sparked a two-year war that caused tensions to linger for the next two decades. This prompted us and EU sanctions against the nation for alleged human rights abuses.
