Sudan and Eritrea have inaugurated the first and only paved road that links the two nations, signalling an improvement in once-sour relations between the neighbouring countries. People wanting to cross the border previously had to take long and risky dirt roads. The newly paved road is 26 km long. Sudanese leader Omar Bashir, speaking at the inauguration, said he wished to see borders between the two nations removed altogether.
Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and the Emir of Qatar, whose country helped finance the $9 million project, were also present for the Oct 26 ceremony, which took place in Sudan’s eastern border city of Kasala.