Move towards parliamentary union

A Sudanese parliamentary delegation led by the Speaker of parliament, Ahmad al-Tahir, has met Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin in his office in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopian radio said on Wednesday. Seyoum told the Sudanese delegation that the two countries, which in recent months signed a number of cooperation agreements, were expected to cooperate and develop their “parliamentary and people-to-people” relationships, said the radio.

The Sudanese Speaker and his Ethiopian counterpart, Dawit Yohanes, discussed ways of bringing the parliaments of the two countries closer together. The process of strengthening relations between the two parliaments was “supplementary” to efforts aimed at establishing an Inter-governmental Authority for Development (IGAD) parliamentary union, said the radio.
The two sides first called for the establishment of an IGAD parliamentary union when their parliamentary speakers met in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, in February. Both sides said that such a union would facilitate communication and create a joint forum for the states of the region.