Sudan FM, UN envoy discuss Abyei and Fashaqa

April 17, 2022 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese Foreign Minister and the UN envoy to the Horn of Africa discussed the situation in the disputed Abyei, and the conflict with Ethiopia over the Al-Fashqa border area and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).

Ali Al-Sadiq on Sunday met Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana, who is visiting the country for the first time after being appointed as a special envoy of the UN Secretary-General in the Horn of Africa last February.

“The meeting discussed the situation in Abyei, peace in South Sudan, and Sudanese-Ethiopian disputes over the Renaissance Dam and in the Al-Fashqa border area,” reads a statement issued by the official news agency Suna.

The statement added that the minister told the envoy that the good relations between Khartoum and Juba are a conducive factor in calming the situation in Abyei and enhancing the possibility of reaching a peaceful solution.

The United Nations calls on South Sudan and Sudan to reach an agreement to end the tension between the conflicting tribes Ngok Dinka and Misseriya over the region after the independence of South Sudan and the failure to organize a referendum on the fate of the border region.

In line with the 2005 peace agreement, the residents of Abyei have to decide through a referendum whether they want to remain in Sudan or join independent South Sudan.

However, the failure to determine who was entitled to participate in this vote prevented it until now.

With regard to the dispute with Ethiopia over the Al-Fashqa area, the Sudanese minister said that Ethiopia must first recognize that the border area is Sudanese territory before engaging in talks with Addis Ababa.

Also, he said that dialogue about filling and operating the GERD is the most effective way to bring the views closer and reach a satisfactory solution for the three parties.

(ST)