Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia keen to achieve peace in whole region – Maher
CAIRO, Dec 7, 2003 (MENA) — Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia are keen to achieve peace, progress and cooperation, not only between themselves, but also in the whole region, the Egyptian Foreign Minister said Sunday following a meeting with his Sudanese and Ethiopian counterparts.
The tripartite meeting was “fruitful and beneficial”, Ahmad Mahir said following his meeting with Mustafa Isma’il Taha and Seyoum Mesfin.
The three ministers exchanged views on boosting ties between their countries and working together in harmony to settle problems facing the Horn of Africa and achieve development for all countries of the region.
Mahir said they agreed to hold such a meeting on a biannual basis at the most in one of the capitals of the three countries.
Mahir welcomed Mesfin’s invitation to hold the next meeting in Addis Ababa after six months. “This does not mean the three ministers will not meet before that time. They can meet at any time,” Mahir said.
The tripartite meetings which started in Cairo, the Egyptian foreign minister said, aim at serving the good of the peoples of the region.
Cooperation will cover all fields, including trade, economic, cultural and joint security domains, he added.
Experts from Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan will hold meetings in Cairo to set up a joint action plan for reinforcing cooperation in the various domains, added the Egyptian foreign minister.
He highlighted the significance of President Mubarak’s meeting with the Ethiopian and Sudanese foreign ministers.
Mahir said the meeting tackled the situation in Somalia as well as means of supporting the war-torn country.
He added that the Sudanese foreign minister posted his counterparts on outcome of the current efforts for an all-out national reconciliation in Sudan as fast as possible.
The Sudanese minister expressed hopes a peace deal would be concluded by the end of the year and paid tributes to the United States for its positive role in the Sudanese peace process to end the twenty-year-old civil war in Sudan.
Only the two parties concerned can set a date for completing the peace deal, added the Sudanese top diplomat.
Responding to a question on whether a meeting in the near future would bring together the Ethiopian and Eritrean foreign ministers with Egyptian good offices, Mesfin said he posted his counterparts on the latest developments in the issue.
Ethiopia welcomed the Egyptian and Sudanese role to help settle the dispute within the context of the African Union and the United Nations, added the Ethiopian foreign minister.
Mahir ruled out that the issue of water security provokes any kind of discord between the three states.