Sudanese-Ethiopian strategic military meeting kicks off in Khartoum
February 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) – The second Sudanese-Ethiopian Military Strategic Forum has convened in Khartoum on Monday.
The Ethiopian delegation headed by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian Armed Forces, Lieut. Gen. Adam Mohamed has arrived in Khartoum on Monday.
The Deputy Chief of Staff of Sudan’s Army Ground Forces for Training, Lieut. Gen. Shams al-Din Kabbashi Ibrahim said the forum would discuss a number of papers covering political and security domains as well as issues of common concern.
He told reporters at Khartoum airport upon arrival of the Ethiopian delegation that all arrangements have been completed to kick off the meeting.
According to Ibrahim, the forum is being held under the auspices of the political and military leadership in Sudan and Ethiopia and is part of the strategic understandings between the two countries which aim to sustain security and stability and serving interests of both peoples.
For his part, the head of the Ethiopian delegation said the forum comes amid local, regional and international conditions that require research and analysis.
“We are here in Khartoum to participate in the joint military strategic workshop, which will discuss common issues that we hope will benefit the two brotherly countries and serve their common interests,” he said
Several years after the unsuccessful attempt to reconcile Addis Ababa and Asmara in order to build a tripartite economic and military regional alliance, Sudan and Ethiopia developed joint economic projects and moved together towards broader regional political and security cooperation.
In October 2016, Sudan and Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding providing to enhance joint security and military cooperation between the two neighbouring countries to fight terrorism.
Also, during the 14th meeting of the joint Sudanese-Ethiopian technical committee in March 2016 in Khartoum, Sudan proposed to deploy joint border units on the border between the two countries.
In April 2017, Sudan’s President Omer al-Bashir and Ethiopia’s premier announced in Addis Ababa that they signed a military agreement for mutual defence in the case of foreign aggression on one of the two neighbouring countries.
(ST)