Eritrea has pledged to help famine victims in Ethiopia by offering its ports for expeditious humanitarian assistance delivery.
The Eritrean government said it had no desire to "penalise destitute populations in Ethiopia" for the wrongs done by their government.
Relations between the two Horn of Africa nations have remained tense since the end of a war between the two in May 2000. Seven years earlier, Eritrea won its independence from Ethiopia, which lost its Red Sea ports in the process.
The statement from Asmara pointed out that acute crop shortfalls this year because of severe drought, and the threat of famine were well known.
"Indeed, millions of people in Ethiopia and Eritrea will face starvation unless they are assisted timely and in adequate quantities," the Asmara government said.
The United States yesterday announced emergency aid worth $87 million to help Ethiopia through the drought. The US food aid has begun arriving at the port in neighbouring Djibouti, which has become Ethiopia's main transit point for goods coming in by sea.
The UN World Food Programme appealed to donors on Tuesday to urgently help tackle the food crisis, saying $160 million in aid were needed quickly.
AFP