Sudan and Ethiopia agree to establish joint oil pipeline

By:Middleast Monitor

Sudan and Ethiopia agreed on Friday to establish a joint oil pipeline, to serve the two countries.

This came during a meeting held by Sudanese Minister of Energy and Mining Adel Mohamed Ibrahim, with his Ethiopian counterpart, Seleshi Bekele, in the capital Addis Ababa, as part of an official visit by Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and a number of his ministers to Ethiopia.

According to the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA), Ibrahim explained that Khartoum and Addis Ababa will invite Juba to “co-establish another branch of the pipeline to extend it to reach the State of South Sudan for the benefit of the people of the region.”

“The Ethiopian side is very interested and enthusiastic about this project, and we will start to implement it soon after the completion of partnership procedures,” Ibrahim added.

He continued “the Ethiopian side also presented a second project, a partnership in the Sudanese Nile Petroleum Co. Ltd., and Ethiopia will present a written proposal on this partnership.”

Ibrahim also pointed out that “the meeting also discussed the project of the expansion of Port Sudan (eastern Sudan) so as to accommodate a number of ships and gas and gasoline tankers.”

The meeting also discussed “technical cooperation between Sudan and Ethiopia in oil exploration, development and information and training centre.”

In the framework of the same visit, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stressed his country’s support to Sudan in all regional and international events, to remove its name from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list.

This came in a joint ministerial meeting between Sudan and Ethiopia, at the National Palace in Addis Ababa, according to the same agency.

The two sides held a joint ministerial meeting, chaired by Hamdok from the Sudanese side, and by his counterpart Ahmed from the Ethiopian side.

Ahmed stressed on “the importance of cooperation between Sudan and Ethiopia in the field of energy,” so that his country would provide energy to Sudan and Sudan would provide food to Ethiopia.

As far as the Renaissance Dam is concerned, Ahmed affirmed that “its construction is not aimed at besieging Egypt or Sudan, but at producing electricity for the benefit of Ethiopia and the countries of the region.”

On Wednesday, Egypt reiterated its adherence to an international mediator in the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiations, which it claimed “reached a dead-end” and demanded an international mediator; a proposal that has been rejected by Addis Ababa, which stressed its refusal to undermine its share in the Nile River waters.

The Ethiopian prime minister praised the Sudanese revolution, acknowledging that “the revolution has in indeed made a change in Sudan, and it will open new prospects for it.” He also praised Hamdok’s position of prioritising peace “because peace creates transformation and stability.”

On Thursday, Hamdok and a number of ministers arrived in Addis Ababa on a two-day official visit, which is his first since taking office in August.

Mediation between Ethiopia and the African Union sponsored negotiations between the Military Council and the Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change, following the ousting of President Omar Al-Bashir last April. The negotiations culminated with the signing of the Political and Constitutional agreement on 17 August, in Khartoum.

The transitional phase in Sudan began on 21 August, lasting 39 months, during which power is shared between both the Military Council and the Forces of Freedom and Change, which led the popular movement. The transitional phase ends with the holding of elections.