Ethiopia Facilitates Evacuation of Citizens of 61 Countries from Sudan: MFA Spokesperson

Addis Ababa, May 4, 2023 (FBC) – Ethiopia has facilitated the evacuation of foreign citizen of 61 countries from Sudan through its border based on international humanitarian principles, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Meles Alem briefed local and international media about the current situation in Sudan and other issues in his biweekly press conference today.

He said Ethiopia is closely monitoring the situation in Sudan as the two countries share longest border and the people to people relation is also strong.

The ambassador said a task force has been established to facilitate the evacuation of Ethiopian citizens and other foreigners living in Sudan.

Meles pointed out that 75 air flights were allowed for the evacuation of foreign nationals as per the humanitarian principles.

Accordingly, 7,726 Ethiopians and foreign citizens of 61 countries have been evacuated from Sudan through Ethiopia, ambassador Meles said.

Out of the total evacuees, more than 3,500 are Ethiopians, according to the spokesperson.

He added Ethiopia believes that the problem in Sudan need to be resolved through the AU and IGAD frameworks and any unilateral efforts are not acceptable.

Ethiopia also believes that meddling in the internal affairs of Sudan would not solve the problem rather it will worsen the situation, the ambassador underlined.

According to Meles, Ethiopia wants to play positive role in resolving the situation in Sudan.

It is to be recalled that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed held phone discussions with both General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo on the need to settle differences amicably and bring stability to Sudan.

The spokesperson has also disclosed that the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz will arrive in Addis Ababa this afternoon for a working visit to Ethiopia.

The chancellor will also be accompanied by a high level delegation comprising of investors and journalists from Germany.

The chancellor is expected to discuss with higher government officials on national, regional and international issues of mutual concern.

The Spokesperson said Ethiopia and Germany have been enjoying a long standing relations and the visit would further strengthen this ties to higher level.

Germany is a country that stood alongside Ethiopia during difficult times; the ambassador said adding Germany is also expected to provide support to conflict affected areas.

He explained that Ethiopia and Germany have strong bilateral relationships, especially in the area of development and capacity building.

Germany is known for its huge development support to Ethiopia in addition to its cooperation in the field of vocational education, he said.

The trade relations between the two countries are also strong as Ethiopia imports various products from Germany.

According to Meles, the Foreign Minister of Malta will also visit Ethiopia over the coming week and this is part of the normalization process being carried of by the government of Ethiopia.