Africa

April 21, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir and Ethiopia's Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed Ali on Saturday discussed bilateral cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

Al-Bashir, who arrived in Ethiopia on Friday to take part in Tana Forum which is hosted by the Ethiopian city of Bahr Dar from 21 to 22 April, met with Ethiopia's premier on Saturday.

During the meeting, al-Bashir stressed the Sudanese government and people support for Ethiopia in order to achieve aspirations of the two countries in all fields.

He pointed out that the Sudanese-Ethiopian relations are strong and eternal, expressing keenness to promote bilateral ties in all fields.

For his part, the Ethiopian premier expressed deep gratitude for al-Bashir's participation in Tana Forum, describing Sudan as his second home and al-Bashir as his older brother.

He also expressed gratitude for the generous treatment received by the Ethiopian citizens in Sudan.

Meanwhile, Sudan's State Foreign Minister Mohamed Abdallah Idriss told reporters following the meeting the two leaders underscored the need to strengthen coordination and cooperation between the two countries in regional and international forums.

He added the two also discussed ways to activate and secure the border trade between the two countries.

On the other hand, Ethiopia's Foreign Minister, Workneh Gebeyehu, said al-Bashir is the first president to meet the newly appointed Ethiopian premier which indicates the strength of bilateral ties between the two countries.

He described the meeting between the two leaders as historic, saying it is an important step towards promoting bilateral relations.

Ethiopia's top diplomat added the two leaders underlined they would work together on the bilateral level and within the framework of the regional bloc, Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

He vowed to exert every possible effort to enhance bilateral relations between Sudan and Ethiopia to reach the highest levels of relations in Africa.

Ethiopia and Sudan are engaged more and more in joint security, military and economic cooperation.

In April 2017, the two sides signed a number of joint agreements to promote economic relations and strengthen ties between the two countries.

Also in February, they signed multiple agreements to further boost up cooperation on a range of development activities.

In March 2012, al-Bashir announced his support to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), saying his government understands the mutual benefits the project could offer Ethiopia and Sudan.

(ST)

April 21, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Saturday managed to arrest a group of 66 migrants with their smugglers in the remote North Darfur area of Wadi Hawar, in a joint operation with the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS).

NISS Director in North Darfur State Brigadier General Awad al-Qurashi said that the operation was carried out in coordination and cooperation with the RSF militiamen deployed in the remote area.

He further told the official news agency SUNA that the RSF arrested the gang of human traffickers with two four-wheel-drive vehicles (Land Cruisers) carrying 66 migrants including 26 Ethiopians and 37 Sudanese nationals, pointing that there were 8 women and 7 children among them.

Sudan is considered as a country of transit for migrants and refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia, heading to Europe.

There are two routes for human trafficking from Sudan to Libya used by human smugglers one from Khartoum through Northern State and Darfur route via El-Fasher in North Darfur which has gained importance since 2017.

From 1 January to 31 March 2018, the number of refugees and migrants arrived in Italy by sea had decreased significantly. According to the UNHCR, there were 6,296 persons during the first trimester of this year against 24,292 persons reached Italian shores in the same period last year.

"This is a 74 percent decrease".

However, Sudanese remain among the ten most common countries of origin of migrants with Eritrea, Tunisia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Libya, Côte d'Ivoire, Sudan, Guinea, Senegal, and Mali.

Also, despite an overall decrease in sea arrivals, the UN refugee agency noticed that the numbers of Eritreans reaching Italian shores have been on the rise.

(ST)

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April 19, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's President Omer al-Bashir relieved his foreign minister Ibrahim Ghandour said the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA) on Thursday evening.

Ibrahim Ghandour attends African Union ministers meeting in Addis Ababa on 11 April 2016 (ST Photo)

In a very short wire, SUNA reported that al-Bashir issued a presidential decree removing Ghandour from his position. Also, the decision was announced in less than three hours after the return of the president from Saudi Arabia where he participated in the 29th Arab League summit.

Observers in Khartoum believe that the decision comes after Ghandour statements on Wednesday before the lawmakers where he said certain circles have delayed the salaries of Sudanese diplomats since seven months.

"The president (al-Bashir) talked with the Governor of the Bank of Sudan several times, in the same way, the First Vice President, and the Minister of the Presidency follows the matter on a daily basis, but it seems that there are those who feel that the salaries of diplomats, staff and mission rents are not a priority," he told the parliament on Wednesday.

The statements triggered a massive outpouring of reactions some supported him saying and praised him for his courage others said he had not to disclose such important information.

Ghandour reportedly had already filed his resignation to President al-Bashir several months ago to protest the appointment of the former oil minister Awad al-Jaz as presidential aide tasked with relations with countries that have important investments in Sudan like China and Turkey.

Ghandour handled very important files and negotiated the lift of U.S. economic sanctions with Sudan. Recently he built strong relations with Egyptian officials and successfully managed to reduce tensions between the two countries.

(ST)