Sudan, Ethiopia agreed to settle all disputes peacefully

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle, NAIROBI Kenya

Ethiopia and Sudan reach a fresh agreement to peacefully resolve all outstanding disputes between the two neighbours.

The renewed agreement was reached after Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Demeke Mekonnen, and the Vice President of Sudan’s Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC) of Sudan, Lt-Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo met in Khartoum.

The two officials held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) ministerial council meeting held in Sudan, the current chair of the regional bloc.

During the discussion, the two sides agreed to peacefully resolve a border dispute which engaged the two neighbours in armed clashes in recent years.

A long-running dispute over a contested fertile border region, al-Fashaqa, has fueled a surge in tensions between the two countries in recent years, alongside a diplomatic spat over Ethiopia’s construction of the multibillion-dollar mega-dam project.

Tension over al-Fashaqa, which lies within Sudan’s international boundaries but has been settled by Ethiopian farmers for decades, escalated in December 2020, after Sudan deployed its army and took control of the area.

The two Eastern African nations share a 1,600-kilometer-long common boundary that has never been delimited, causing intermittent confrontations.

In addition, the two sides have agreed to solve the long-existing disputes over Ethiopia’s controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) which is being built on the Nile River, some 30 kilometres away from the Sudanese border.

Sudan and Egypt fear that the massive dam which would be Africa’s largest could eventually diminish their water shares from the Nile River.

Mekonnen and Dagalo have further discussed bilateral relations and regional issues of mutual concern.

Sudan has also expressed readiness to support the implementation of the peace agreement signed between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The 48th Ordinary Session of the IGAD, an eight-member regional bloc, was concluded on Wednesday in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.

The Council of Ministers deliberated at length and endorsed the report presented by Workneh Gebeyehu, Executive Secretary of IGAD.

The Council appreciated the IGAD Secretariat for navigating the region and the organization when it was traversing under daunting peace and security and humanitarian situations.

The IGAD Council of Ministers also commended the bloc’s contributions to the Peace Agreement for the Cessation of Hostility in North Ethiopia.

The Ministers also put their signatures on two protocols on free movement of people and transhumance.

At its conclusion, the IGAD Ministerial Council issued a communiqué that called for institutional reform to make sure IGAD stands at the forefront in the effort of member countries to achieve peace and development in the region.

Regarding peace and security, among others, the Communiqué, welcomed the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed between the Government of Ethiopia and TPLF in Pretoria, South Africa, on 2nd November 2022 and the subsequent Declaration of Senior Commanders on Modalities for the Implementation of the Agreement signed in Nairobi, Kenya, on 12th November 2022.