![Eritrea [shutterstock]](https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Eritrea-e1555939899178-2503x1406.jpg)
International Travel Information
What you need to know before you go: visas, embassy & consulate locations, vaccinations, etc.
International Travel Information: Learn More
November 7, 2022
U.S. Relations With Eritrea
Highlights
May 24, 2023
January 23, 2023
U.S. Relationship
These are excerpts from the U.S. Relations With Eritrea
U.S.-Eritrea Relations
The U.S. established diplomatic relations with Eritrea in 1993, following its independence and separation from Ethiopia. The U.S. supported Eritrea’s independence, but ongoing government detention of political dissidents and others, the closure of the independent press, limits on civil liberties, allegations of human rights abuses, and the expulsion of some U.S. government agencies have contributed to strained U.S.-Eritrean relations. U.S.
Bilateral Economic Relations
The Eritrean Government and ruling party control the economy. The U.S. and Eritrea have very little bilateral trade. Eritrea is a member of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, which has a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with the United States.
![Eritrea Flag: red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle; green stands for the country's agriculture economy, red signifies the blood shed in the fight for freedom, and blue symbolizes the bounty of the sea; the wreath-olive branch symbol is similar to that on the first flag of Eritrea from 1952; the shape of the red triangle broadly mimics the shape of the country [CIA World Fact Book]](https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/er-lgflag.gif){kind=small}
