Britain’s foreign secretary was in the Sudanese capital Thursday to discuss bilateral relations and tensions along the border with Ethiopia, Sudan’s state news agency reported.
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Dominic Raab, who arrived in Khartoum late Wednesday, met with Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of Sudan’s ruling sovereign council, Sudan’s prime minister, Abdalla Hamdok, and acting foreign minister Omar Qamar al-Din, said SUNA.
Raab was visiting to discuss the situation along the Sudan-Ethiopia border, where violent clashes between Sudanese forces and Ethiopian militias have taken place, leading to concerns of a potential military conflict between the neighbouring countries.
Raab was also expected to discuss the ongoing water dispute between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. The dispute is over Ethiopia’s construction of a controversial dam on the Blue Nile River, the main tributary of the Nile.
Sudan is on a fragile path to democratic rule after a popular uprising led the military to overthrow long-time autocratic Omar al-Bashir in April 2019, after nearly three decades of rule. A military-civilian government is now in power.
In a move to support the economic reforms of the Sudanese government, Raab announced a provision of 40 million pounds to the Sudan Family Support Program, which will provide 1.6 million people with direct financial support.
“Sudan is passing through a critical juncture in its transition to democracy,” Raab was quoted by SUNA as saying. “The UK takes pride in standing by the side of the Sudanese people.”
