Panafrican News Agency

Sudan and Ethiopia underline the need to reach a win-win solution on GERD

Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudan and Ethiopia have issued a joint statement at the end of a one-day visit to Khartoum by the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Dr Abiy Ahmed, in which he held lengthy talks with his Sudanese counterpart and called on the head of the Sovereign Council, Lt Gen Abdul Fatah Al Burhan.

The statement said the visit by Ethiopia’s prime minister comes within the framework of “the continuous consultations between the leaderships of the Republic of Sudan and the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, underpinned by the age-old relationship between the two-sister countries”

The high level Ethiopian delegation that accompanied Prime Minister Abiy included Ministers of Defense, Foreign Affairs, and Water, Irrigation and Energy, in addition of a number of senior officials.

The statement said the talks between the two sides thoroughly dwelt on ways of strengthening, expanding and deepening bilateral cooperation in all fields.

The two sides, according to the statement, “expressed shared conviction that, given the historical, cultural, social and economic ties between the two countries, embarking on regional integration is the way forward to fulfill their peoples' aspirations in peace, development and pan -Africans unity.”

It said the two sides agreed to reactivate all existing bilateral mechanisms, designed to further the cooperation in different areas.

“Cognizant of their roles as major pillars of stability and peace in the Horn of Africa, both sides noticed with great satisfaction the positive, peaceful and more harmonious atmosphere which is currently prevailing in the Horn, and pledged to redouble their efforts to consolidate and nurture these gains,” it said.

On the question of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), both sides emphasized the “imperative of exerting every possible effort to attain a successful conclusion of the ongoing trilateral negotiations under the auspices of the AU leading to a win-win formula that would make the GERD a vehicle for regional integration between the riparian countries”

The statement said Sudan and Ethiopia both sides expressed their support and commitment to the AU-led mediation in the GERD negotiations.  It added that “They view this initiative as manifestation of the principle of African solutions to African problems.” 

The visit programme, the statement concluded, was concluded by a meeting between General AbdulFattah Alburhan, Head of the Transitional Sovereign Council, and Abiy, the Ethiopian Prime Minister.

-0- PANA MO/VAO 25Aug2020