Sudanese Delegation Visits Dubai to Discuss UAE Mediation in Disputes with Ethiopia

FILE PHOTO: A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia July 12, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia July 12, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies via REUTERS
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Sudanese Delegation Visits Dubai to Discuss UAE Mediation in Disputes with Ethiopia

FILE PHOTO: A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia July 12, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: A handout satellite image shows a closeup view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia July 12, 2020. Satellite image ©2020 Maxar Technologies via REUTERS

A high-ranking Sudanese delegation headed to Dubai on Thursday to discuss UAE's initiative to mediate in the border and dam disputes between Khartoum and Addis Ababa.

Sudan’s transitional cabinet backed the proposal for Emirati mediation after it had been studied at ministry level, Information Minister Hamza Baloul said.

This comes as tensions surrounding the control of farmland in Al-Fashqa, on the border, have escalated in recent months, while talks over the operation of the GERD are deadlocked.

In January, a UAE high-ranking ministerial delegation visited Khartoum to resolve the border issue between Sudan and Ethiopia in an attempt to converge the views between the three countries involved in the GERD dispute.

Khartoum has repeatedly urged Ethiopia to officially recognizes Sudanese sovereignty over the Al-Fashaqa area and demarcates the border.

Meanwhile, US Special Envoy for Sudan Ambassador Donald Booth is expected to arrive in Khartoum on Sunday for a two-day visit, as part of a regional tour, which will include Egypt, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.

Booth will discuss with Sudanese officials developments on GERD talks, as well as the democratic transition in the country, SUNA reported.



France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
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France Declines to Comment on Algeria’s Anger over Recognition of Morocco’s Claim over Sahara

French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)
French President Emmanuel Macron and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. (AFP file)

Paris declined to comment on Algeria’s “strong condemnation” of the French government’s decision to recognize Morocco’s claim over the Sahara.

The office of the French Foreign Ministry refused to respond to an AFP request for a comment on the Algeria’s stance.

It did say that further comments could impact the trip Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is set to make to France in late September or early October.

The visit has been postponed on numerous occasions over disagreements between the two countries.

France had explicitly expressed its constant and clear support for the autonomy rule proposal over the Sahara during Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne’s visit to Morocco in February, reported AFP.

The position has helped improve ties between Rabat and Paris.

On Thursday, the Algerian Foreign Ministry expressed “great regret and strong denunciation" about the French government's decision to recognize an autonomy plan for the Western Sahara region "within Moroccan sovereignty”.

Algeria was informed of the decision by France in recent days, an Algerian foreign ministry statement added.

The ministry also said Algeria would draw all the consequences from the decision and hold the French government alone completely responsible.