欧美文化:Sudan stresses keenness to enhance ties with Ethiopia

KHARTOUM, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan on Tuesday expressed his country's keenness to enhance relations with Ethiopia to serve the interests of both countries and their peoples.

Al-Burhan made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Port Sudan, the capital city of the Red Sea State in eastern Sudan, according to a statement by the sovereign council.

In the statement, Al-Burhan, also general commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), highlighted the strength of relations between the two countries and the importance of preserving them.

The statement noted that the army chief also briefed Ahmed on the situation in Sudan in the wake of "the rebellion by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) against the state and its institutions."

For his part, the Ethiopian prime minister said his visit to Sudan came in solidarity with the Sudanese people, stressing that "this war (in Sudan) will end and the relations between the two countries will remain firm and strong."

He highlighted the importance of peace as a foundation for development, noting that the problems of countries must be resolved internally without external interference.

Ahmed arrived in Port Sudan earlier on Tuesday for an official one-day visit.

Sudan has been embroiled in a deadly conflict between the SAF and the RSF since mid-April 2023, which had claimed at least 16,650 lives, according to a watchdog update cited by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a report in late June.

The UN International Organization for Migration estimated that over 7.7 million people in Sudan have been internally displaced amid the conflict, while about 2.2 million others have crossed borders into neighboring countries to seek refuge.