NEW YORK - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed Saturday the visit two days ago by foreign ministers of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia to Djibouti, hailing it as "another important step" in the rapprochement among the countries in the Horn of Africa region.

In a statement through his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, Guterres said the agreement reached among the four ministers to work together to restore peace and stability in the region is a positive example for the region and beyond.

He reiterated the readiness of the UN to support countries in the region in consolidating the recent "remarkable" gains.

As a result of the visit on Thursday, Eritrea and Djibouti agreed to normalize relations after a decade of diplomatic stalemate. The two countries have a border dispute extending back to 2008.

The Horn of Africa region has seen a number of diplomatic thaws since Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in June decided to fully accept a 2002 border deal that followed a 1998-2000 war with Eritrea. Restored diplomatic ties quickly followed.

Eritrea and Somalia in late July also agreed to restore diplomatic ties.