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.

The official Sudan News Agency says that Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and the emir of Qatar, whose country helped finance the $9 million project, were also present for Wednesday’s ceremony, which took place in Sudan’s eastern border city of Kasala.