Ethiopia re-affirms continued support for South Sudan
August 21, 2017 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Prime Minister of Ethiopia Hailemariam Dessalegn said Ethiopia would continue with its commitment of bringing peace and stability to South Sudan.
Gatkuoth, the Ethiopian News Agency reported, delivered a message from South Sudan President Salva Kirr to Dessalegn, the chairperson of the regional bloc (IGAD).
According to Gatkouth, Kiir’s message was mainly about the implementation of the forum his country signed with IGAD in 2015.
“The South Sudanese government is implementing the forum as it promised and the aim of the forum is to restore stability in the country,” Gatkouth said.
The two nations, he said, will continue to cooperate in all spheres of activities.
“For us, Ethiopia is a strategic country and a partner, and we will always continue to rely on Ethiopia for all things that could happen in South Sudan. It is Ethiopia that brought peace and stability to South Sudan,” added Gatkouth.
The Ethiopian Prime Minister urged the South Sudanese government to work towards the full restoration of peace and stability in the country and solve the nation’s problems in a more inclusive manner.
According to Dessalegn, all-round public participation is of crucial importance in seeking a political solution to the current crisis.
He further noted that Ethiopia and South Sudan share extensive common borders in which peoples of the same nationality, like the Anyuak, live on both sides of the border between the two countries.
Peace and stability in South Sudan are crucial to Ethiopia, the Ethiopian Prime Minister emphasized, adding that Ethiopia will not, therefore, allow South Sudan’s government to plunge into total crisis.
South Sudan has experienced a civil war since a bitter split between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy, Riek Machar, escalated in mid-December 2013. Tens of thousands of people have reportedly been killed and over 2 million displaced in less than five years.
(ST)