ADDIS ABABA, June 27 (Xinhua) -- The Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has hailed the ongoing Ethiopia-Eritrea talks.

Ethiopia on Tuesday received a high-level Eritrean delegation for the first time since the two countries fought a two-year border war from 1998-2000.

The Eritrean delegation led by the country's Foreign Minister Osman Salah was warm welcomed at Addis Ababa Bole International Airport by Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, and Ethiopian Foreign Minister Workineh Gebeyehu.

The IGAD Executive Secretary, Mahboub Maalim, is very pleased to learn that a high level delegation of Eritrean government has arrived in Addis Ababa for talks, which is a first since the breakdown of relationship between Eritrea and Ethiopia almost two decades ago, according to a statement from the East African bloc on Wednesday.

Maalim has hailed the bold initiative of Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, taking the first step of proposing that the two neighboring countries that have so much in common, should solve their differences peacefully.

The IGAD executive secretary has also commended President Isaias Afeworki of Eritrea, for positive response to the initiative.

Maalim is confident that the talks will bear fruit that will be appreciated by both the Eritrean and Ethiopian peoples and the region as a whole, said the statement.

Stating that IGAD commits to do its level best to support the success of the talks, he has congratulated the peoples of the two countries who are the greatest beneficiaries of the new developments.

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bloody two-year border war that killed an estimated 70,000 people from both sides before signing a peace accord, dubbed the Algiers agreement, in December 12, 2000.

On June 5, the Executive Committee of the ruling party, the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) passed decision expressing Ethiopia's commitment to an unconditional implementation of Algiers peace agreement with Eritrea.

The peace agreement ended the two-year border war, but a tense armed standoff continued, with the two countries engaging in skirmishes occasionally.

Ethiopia until this month had declined to endorse the results of the peace agreement fully, including the symbolically important town of Badme which Ethiopia currently controls but which was awarded to Eritrea.

Eritrea for its part had until recently insisted the border demarcation has to be done first before any talks on normalizing ties.