Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (L) meets with Sudanese President
Omar Bashir following his arrival in Khartoum for an official visit to
Sudan on May 2, 2018. PHOTO | AFP
Sudanese and Ethiopian leaders have confirmed their commitment
to resolving the disputes with Egypt over the Great Ethiopian
Renaissance Dam (GERD) peacefully.
President Omar
Bashir and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, at a meeting in Khartoum,
reiterated their commitment to the 2015 tripartite principles they
signed with Egypt.
“Our two countries are committed to
the declaration of principles on the GERD and the importance of the
tripartite committee in this regard,” President Bashir said.
Mr
Abiy re-affirmed Ethiopia's commitment to the win-win principle
regarding the Nile water sharing in general and the GERD issue in
particular.
Border demarcation
He further commended the stance of Sudan regarding the dam.
President
Bashir said the border problems between his country and Ethiopia have
been resolved, adding that only technical work was needed to implement
the agreement.
He added that the two countries had finalised the border demarcation.
“Regarding
the border demarcation between our two countries, we have no
differences on the maps. We only need to accelerate the technical work
on the ground to avoid any disputes in the future,” President Bashir
said.
He also said that the two sides would go further
with the formation of the joint defence forces at the border, pointing
out the two leaders had ordered their Defence and Interior ministers and
governors of the border states to meet and push those efforts forward.
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Mr
Abiy disclosed that Ethiopia was considering opening the common border
for more bilateral trade and engagement between the two nations.
He
further noted that his country and Sudan were working for the peace in
South Sudan, under the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development
(Igad).
“The ongoing cross border cooperation between
our two countries and the consultation for peace and security matters at
all levels is commendable. Our joint efforts to bring about lasting
peace to the conflict in South Sudan is also a case that demonstrates
our commitment to see harmony and prosperity in the horn of Africa,” Mr
Abiy.
A breakthrough
Mr Abiy arrived in Khartoum on Wednesday for a two-day visit.
He is accompanied by Foreign Affairs, Defence and Water Resources ministers and the governors of the border states.
The
talks held in Khartoum between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt last month
failed to achieve a breakthrough on the Addis Ababa and Cairo dispute.
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