Egypt supports Ethiopia’s new peace proposal

CAIRO, Dec 30, 2003 (MENA) — Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Mahmoud Mohamed Nazif said there is no better alternative other than Ethiopia’s new peace proposal in resolving the boarder dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the Ministry of Information said.

While receiving a message sent by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi from Ethiopia’s Minister of Mines Ambassador Mohamed Dirir on Monday 27 December, Ahmed stressed the need that any dispute need to be resolved through peaceful means, the ministry said its statement sent to Ethiopian News Agency on Wednesday.

He said Egypt would play its role in resolving the Ethiopia-Eritrea border dispute peacefully, according to the statement.

There is no any other alternative to solve the problem other than negotiating in a round table discussion, the prime minister said.

Ambassador Mohamed on his part briefed the Egyptian prime minister about the five-point peace proposal and contents of the message of Prime Minister Meles, the statement said.

He said ensuring peace, building democracy and bringing about sustainable development are Ethiopia’s top most agenda presently.

The ambassador told the prime minister that Egypt should play its role in resolving the dispute between the two countries, it said.

Pointing out Egypt has expressed support to the proposal, Ambassador Mohamed said the Ethiopian government believes that the effort being made by Egypt to resolve the conflict peacefully would have a positive result.