December 16, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - Chadian President Idriss Deby and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok Monday agreed to enhance the role played by the joint border force and to work jointly achieve peace in Sudan.

Hamdok was in Ndjamena for a one-day work visit at the invitation of President Deby. The two leaders held a closed-door meeting to discuss "main topics of political and security issues in Africa," according to the Chadian presidency before another meeting with delegations from the two sides.

A joint statement released at the end of the meeting in Ndjamena said that the two sides stressed the urgent need to further strengthen the role of the Chad-Sudan Joint Force to securing the common.

"To this end, particular emphasis has been placed on the exchange of information and intelligence between the security services of the two countries as well as judicial cooperation," said the joint statement.

In the same vein, the two parties agreed on the need to take strong and consistent action to contain irregular immigration and the arms smuggling.

Sudan and Chad have formed the joint border force in 2010 after a reconciliation ending accusations of support to rebel groups from both sides.

The two government have pacified the troubled areas in western Sudan and eastern Chad but emerged a new danger of terrorist groups that seek to destabilize the Sahel countries including Chad.

The bilateral discussions, also, tackled the needed regional support for the ongoing peace talks taking place in Juba.

The two sides" launched a vibrant appeal to all armed movements to prioritize dialogue and national reconciliation," said the statement before to announce an agreement "to combine their efforts to facilitate this dialogue between the Government of Sudan and the armed movements".

"In this regard, Chad has expressed its willingness to give its full support to the ongoing negotiations between the various stakeholders," further said the statement.

The war in Darfur region and its tribal implications in the two countries forced the two countries to work together to end Darfur conflict and to press the armed groups to negotiate a peaceful solution.

Hamdok’s visit to Chad comes after visits by the head of the Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and member of the Sovereign Council Mohamed Hamdan Dalgo Hemetti who is also the head of the Sudanese negotiating team for the peace talks.

The joint statement also tackled the development of trade and economic relations. Also, they agreed to materialize as quickly as possible the Chad-Sudan railway project linking Ndjamena and Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

To this end, they agreed to hold follow-up meetings on the political level and technical ministerial level

(ST)