African "general parliamentary assembly" proposed

The Sudanese and Ethiopian parliaments have issued a joint statement after representatives met in Khartoum, state-run Sudan television said on 14 February. Sudanese Parliamentary Speaker Ahmad Ibrahim al-Tahir held talks with Dawit Yohanes, speaker of the Ethiopian House of People's Representative and agreed to establish a parliamentary union for the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). A communiqué issued by the two parties called for the establishment of a parliamentary union for the IGAD states to facilitate communication and to establish a forum for cooperation between the regional states, Sudan television said. It also called for the establishment of an "African general parliamentary assembly." The statement said the joint assembly would serve as a channel for dialogue between the representatives of the African people "to overcome the problem of discrimination and disruption and bring about unity, cooperation and integration". Ethiopian speaker, Dawit Yohanes, said the talks held in Khartoum and the agreement signed would strengthen relations between the two countries.