Ethiopia’s PM Calls on Sudanese to Solve Problems without Foreign Interference

Al-Burhan welcomes Ahmed at the Khartoum airport on January 26, 2023

January 26, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Thursday paid a one-day working visit to Khartoum where he advised Sudanese political forces to solve problems without external interference.

The visit to the Sudanese capital was the first for the Ethiopian leader since border clashes between the two neighbours.

“I’m pleased to come back again and be among the wise and vibrant people of Sudan. My appreciation to General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for the warm welcome,” Abiy said in a tweet after his arrival in Khartoum.

“Ethiopia continues to stand in solidarity with Sudan in their current self-led political process,” he stressed.

After a welcome at the Khartoum airport, al-Burhan and Ahmed held a meeting to discuss bilateral relations.

A joint communiqué released at the end of the visit said that the talks included the giant dam and the border dispute. The leaders reaffirmed the need to resolve it through establishment mechanisms.

The communiqué stressed the purpose of the one-day visit was to show solidarity and support for the government and people of Sudan as they exert efforts to reach an intra-Sudanese consensus to establish a smooth transitional period.

“Sudanese are capable of solving their internal problems,” stressed the statement issued at the end of the visit.

“The Ethiopian side expressed hope that the Sudanese reach an agreement to form a transitional civilian government and other institutions, paving the way towards elections at the end of the transition,” further said the statement.

The pro-democracy political groups led by the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) and the military leaders signed a framework agreement to restore a civilian government on December 5, 2022.

But two armed groups, signatories of the Juba peace agreement, and their allies of the Democratic Bloc oppose the process and seek to renegotiate the deal, which provides an end to the participation of the political forces in the transitional government.

The Ethiopian prime minister held separate meetings with the FFC leaders and the Democratic Bloc. He exhorted them to put aside their difference and find homegrown solutions.

The non-signatory groups prepare to travel to Cairo where they are invited by the Egyptian government for a seven-day meeting.

Also, Ahmed met with Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemetti” to discuss bilateral relations.

The Ethiopian leader met the members of the Trilateral Mechanism from the UN, the African Union and the IGAD who have been facilitating the political process in Sudan.

(ST)