Sudan, Ethiopia hold military talks in Kassala
March 14, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The 27th meeting of the Sudanese-Ethiopian border military divisions on Wednesday has kicked off in Sudan’s eastern state of Kassala.
According to the commander of Sudan Armed Force’s (SAF) 11th infantry division Lieutenant General Mahmoud Babiker Himad, the meeting is held every three months in Sudan and Ethiopia alternately.
He pointed out that the meetings aim to assess the performance during a three months period, saying many contingent border issues and problems pertaining to farming and grazing are resolved during these meetings.
Himad added the meetings offer a good opportunity for the military commanders and the security committees on the border to tackle a number of issues including human trafficking, illegal drug and commodity smuggling and cross-border crimes.
For his part, the commander of Ethiopia’s army 24th division Lieutenant Colonel, Michael Garmai, said the meeting aims to secure the border against human trafficking and arms and drugs smuggling.
He called on the residents to provide them with information pertaining to these negative phenomena in order to help to protect the borders.
Also, the Commander of the 42nd Ethiopian contingent in Gondar described the Sudanese and Ethiopian troops as “one army”, saying they seek to protect the residents and the borders and defend the two countries against the enemies of peace.
In 2009, Sudan and Ethiopia signed a military protocol for a period of three years dealing with the development of the armed forces and ways to secure the common border between the two countries.
Last year, the joint Sudanese-Ethiopian military commission agreed to develop a five-year plan including all aspects of cooperation contained in the 2009 military protocol.
Sudan and Ethiopia last October signed a memorandum of understanding providing to enhance joint security and military cooperation between the two neighbouring countries to fight terrorism.
Also, in March 2016 during the 14th meeting of the joint Sudanese-Ethiopian technical committee in Khartoum, Sudan proposed to deploy joint border units on the border between the two countries.
(ST)