ASMARA, Eritrea – Eritrea’s government said Friday that US President Donald Trump has sent a letter to President Isaias Afwerki pledging to reset the relationship between the two nations and reverse the “harmful damage” of the previous administration, which had imposed sanctions on Asmara for its role in the Tigray war.
The announcement, made by Eritrean Information Minister Yemane G. Meskel, suggests a significant potential shift in US foreign policy towards the strategically vital Horn of Africa region. There was no immediate confirmation of the letter from the Trump administration in Washington.
According to Meskel, the letter from Trump, dated July 30, stated he is “reversing the negative, harmful damage of the Biden Administration around the globe”.
The US president also allegedly expressed a readiness to “re-establish a respectful and productive national relationship between the US and Eritrea based on honesty, respect, and opportunities to improve peace and prosperity across the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea”.
The correspondence was reportedly a response to a congratulatory message Afwerki sent to Trump in November 2024 following his election victory. In that message, the Eritrean leader expressed hope that Trump’s “historic comeback” would “open a new chapter of fruitful and constructive ties of cooperation between Eritrea and the US.”
Major policy shift
A move to reset relations would mark a dramatic departure from the policy of President Joe Biden’s administration, which took a hardline stance against Afwerki’s government.
In November 2021, the Biden administration imposed wide-ranging sanctions on the Eritrean military, the ruling party, and other key entities. The sanctions were a response to Eritrea’s military intervention in neighboring Ethiopia’s Tigray region, where Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian federal forces against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The conflict, which began in late 2020, was marked by widespread atrocities, including mass killings and sexual violence, with Eritrean forces being accused by the United States and human rights groups of committing serious abuses. Eritrea’s government has consistently denied the allegations.
The sanctions under Biden targeted Eritrea’s ability to finance its military and destabilize the region, effectively deepening the country’s international isolation.
A turbulent relations
Isaias Afwerki, 79, has ruled Eritrea with an iron fist since the country gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. He leads a one-party state with no legislature, no independent judiciary, and no free press, leading to frequent comparisons with North Korea and descriptions of Eritrea as one of the world’s most repressive states.
US-Eritrea relations have been fraught for decades, punctuated by a brief thaw during the Trump administration’s first term. That period saw a landmark 2018 peace agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia, brokered by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, which formally ended a two-decade-long military stalemate following their 1998-2000 border war.
The rapprochement, which earned Abiy the Nobel Peace Prize, was welcomed by Washington at the time. However, the subsequent joint military campaign by Abiy and Afwerki in Tigray soured relations with Western powers once again.
Eritrea’s potential rehabilitation in Washington’s eyes is significant due to its strategic location. The country has a long and arid coastline along the Red Sea, one of the world’s most crucial shipping lanes.
Its shores lie near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a chokepoint through which a significant portion of global trade and energy supplies passes. Control and stability in the Red Sea region are a major priority for global powers, including the United States, which maintains its largest permanent military base in Africa in neighboring Djibouti.