Prime Minister Hamdok to Lead IGAD Summit

Sudan's PM Hamdok chairs a meeting of the IGAD leaders in Addis Ababa on 9 Feb 2020 -IGAD photo)December 16, 2020 

(KHARTOUM) - Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok will be chairing the 38th Emergency Summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in the Djibouti headquarters on Sunday.

The Authority, also known as IGAD, is comprised of an assembly of heads of East African nations, who meet once a year to discuss common economic interests and resolve relevant issues. Alongside Sudan and South Sudan, member states include Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Uganda.

Prime Minister Hamdok was selected as the Chairman for the current rotation of IGAD meetings and, as such, extended invitations to the presidents of the member states to attend the summit as representatives of their governments.

A meeting between Hamdok and Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa earlier this week led to an agreement that the IGAD summit will discuss possible resolutions for the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

The meeting is also expected to discuss the impact of COVID-19’s second wave, as well as the stalled implementation of the revitalized peace agreement in South Sudan.

(ST)