UNITED NATIONS, June 28 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday welcomed the visit by an Eritrean high-level delegation to Ethiopia as the first concrete step in normalizing relations between the two countries.

Speaking through his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, Guterres noted that diplomatic overtures to ease tensions and resolve the longstanding dispute between the two countries will have a far-reaching and positive impact on the whole region.

He reiterated the readiness of the UN to play a role in supporting the two countries in the implementation of the boundary decision or in any other area they would deem useful for the world body to assist.

An Eritrean delegation, headed by Foreign Minister Osman Saleh, arrived in Addis Ababa on Tuesday in a historic visit, aiming at ending enmity between the two neighbours. The visit is the first of its kind in two decades.

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a war between 1998 and 2000, leaving around 80,000 people dead due to a border dispute.

Although outright fighting has stopped, Ethiopia and Eritrea have not opened diplomatic relations and their forces have engaged in small-scale fights a number of times in recent years.