In 1993, after independence, Eritrea adopted a policy of getting in touch with the Arab states, a move that several intellects in the country were divided upon, some preferring to join the Arab League as an Observer, others calling for joining as a Member, while others called for not getting intouch with the country's mostly Arab perimeter, with Sudan on its northwestern borders, Djibouti on the southeastern borders, and the Arabian Peninsula across the Bab el Mandeb.