Sudan, Ethiopia pledge to promote bilateral ties

Dec 15, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi pledged Thursday to promote bilateral relations, Sudan’s official SUNA news agency reported.

The two leaders made the pledge when they co-chaired the first session of the Sudanese-Ethiopian High Committee (SEHC), said SUNA.

The SEHC is a promotion from the Sudanese-Ethiopian Ministerial Committee, Bashir said, calling it a good signal that the two countries have committed themselves to working for the interests of the brotherly nations.

“The size of commerce between the two countries is still small and will not satisfy our ambitions,” Bashir said.

For his part, Zenawi stressed the importance of security, political and diplomatic cooperation between Khartoum and Addis Ababa and the need to secure security in the region.

Zenawi said his country is committed to securing a safe and stable border with Sudan and it is willing to forge strategic ties with Sudan.

The two men signed 11 protocols on cooperation in culture, youth and sports, higher education, agriculture and forestry, tourism and commerce.

(Xinhua/ST)