Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard is on a two-day visit to Eritrea's capital Asmara, the first by a Swedish foreign minister since the country's independence in 1993. She has met her Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh to discuss bilateral relations and regional security. The visit comes amid prisoner releases and the imprisonment of Swedish-Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak.
Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) arrived in Asmara on Wednesday for a two-day visit, the first by a Swedish foreign minister since Eritrea's independence in 1993, according to reports from Blankspot. During the visit, she met Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, and they discussed bilateral relations between Eritrea and Sweden, regional development, and peace and security in Africa and the Red Sea region, as stated by Eritrea's information department.
Stenergard also met Eritrea's labor and social minister. The visit is seen as the result of ten years of diplomatic efforts to improve relations, focusing on dialogue rather than sanctions, according to journalist Martin Schibbye in Blankspot. The strategy, broadly supported in Sweden, aimed to resolve the border issue between Ethiopia and Eritrea and avoid politicizing detained citizens.
The context is tense: Eritrea holds over 10,000 political prisoners according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Swedish-Eritrean journalist Dawit Isaak has been imprisoned without trial since 2001, for over 24 years. It is unclear if his case was raised in the meeting.
This week, the regime has released hundreds of prisoners held up to 18 years without trial. Schibbye argues this "opens up a new window" for the foreign minister: "Who was released, who remains, why those specific ones, and what happens to the others?" The visit occurs at an alarming time, with threats of war between Ethiopia and Eritrea over Red Sea access. Schibbye, who was himself detained in Ethiopia for 438 days in 2011, highlights the regional risks.
TT has sought comment from Stenergard.
