Sudan’s Bashir attends constitution celebrations in Ethiopia

December 8, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir has arrived in Ethiopia on Monday in a one-day visit to attend the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the constitution and to participate in the border states conference.

The border states conference was held in the capital of Bani Shangoul Gimiz region, Asosa with the participation of seven Sudanese and Ethiopian states.

The Sudanese ambassador to Addis Ababa and permanent representative of Sudan at the African Union (AU), Abdel-Rahman Sir al-Khatim, had said that Bashir will be the guest of honor in the Ethiopian Peoples Day celebrations of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the constitution.

“Our relationship with Ethiopia has surpassed the era of conflicts and aims to achieve development in the border areas and we are currently examining several projects to fulfill that objective on the ground”, he added.

Bashir, who led a delegation comprised of 150 people, also participated in a special forum on the benefits of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in the presence of representatives from several Nile Basin countries.

The Sudanese minister of culture and member of the delegation, al-Tayeb Hassan Badawi, said earlier that Bashir will inspect the workflow at GERD, stressing that the dam serves the interests of both countries.

Sudan Tribune recalls that the activities of the 16th conference on the development of border ties between Ethiopia and Sudan has been launched on Sunday in Ethiopia’s Bani Shangoul Gimiz region and will continue for two days.

The conference which will be attended by the governors of the border states discusses the recommendations of the 15th conference which was held in Sudan’s state of Gedaref last May.
It also tackles issues of common interest in various areas including political and security issues, trade, investment, information, youth and sports, tourism, health, agriculture, forests and animal wealth.

The Sudanese border states participating in the conference include the Blue Nile, Sennar and Gedaref while Ethiopia’s participating regions include Amhara, Tigray and Bani Shangoul Gimiz.

(ST)