Sudan to grant Ethiopia stake in strategic Red Sea port

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA

Ethiopia and Sudan on Thursday reached an agreement allowing the former to maintain a stake in both the development and administration of Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

According to Ethiopia’s Fana Broadcasting Corporation, the agreement was struck during a two-day visit to Sudan by Ethiopia’s new prime minister, Abyi Ahmed.

Fana quoted Ethiopian Foreign Minister Workineh Gebeyehu as saying that Ahmed had agreed with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to expedite implementation of an earlier agreement on joint port development and administration.

It remains unclear, however, exactly how much stake Ethiopia will be allowed to hold in Port Sudan.

Ethiopia uses the port for some of its import/export activities, although the vast majority of the country’s trade currently relies on the Port of Djibouti.

Last month, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Meles Alem said Addis Ababa was exploring ways of using seaports in neighboring countries to keep pace with increasing trade activity.

Sudan and Ethiopia have also reportedly agreed to establish a free-trade regime along the two countries’ shared border, according to Fana.