Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed on the deterioration of the situation in South Sudan and progress in Somalia.
According to Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu, the leaders expressed their concerns over the current situation in South Sudan, which is deteriorating as fighting in Juba continued unabated.
Alarmed by the situation, the leaders expressed fear that the continuation of the war combined with the famine would worsen the humanitarian situation in the country.
The civil war that broke out in 2013 displaced over 2.2 million people and the severe famine puts the lives of thousands at risk.
Alarmed by the situation in the youngest African nation, Ethiopia as a country and member of IGAD has been striving to bring lasting solution to the crisis.
Prime Minister Hailematiam has briefed the Secretary-General on the efforts that Ethiopia has been exerting to resolve the problem.
Noting Ethiopia’s contribution as important, Secretary-General Guterres informed the Prime Minister that the UN will continue to support countries like Ethiopia in their efforts to end the crisis in South Sudan.
Concerned over the situation, the leaders emphasized that this is the time for South Sudanese parties to sit for negotiations and provide lasting solution to the crisis.
While concerned over the deterioration of the situation in South Sudan, the leaders are content with the progress in Somalia. They praised the progress Somalia has made regarding peace and stability.
Somalia has been inching towards stability since 2012, when a new internationally-backed government was established.
In spite of this progress, the leaders are still concerned over the presence of Al-Shabbab, which threatens the effort towards ensuring lasting peace in that country and the region.
In this regard, the leaders exchanged views on ways of strengthening capacity of government institutions and work in collaboration to retain the progress gained so far.
Ethiopia plays important role on the progress in Somalia, said Dr.Workneh. “Ethiopia is the country which made sacrifices and played crucial role next to the people of Somalia for the stability of that country.”
“Every citizen of Somalia knows that and every country in the region know this fact. This is a recognition bestowed on Ethiopia in various arenas including the United Nations for its contribution.”
Apart from maintaining the progress in Somalia, Ethiopia and the UN have a number of issues to work in collaboration, including ensuring peace and stability in the Horn of Africa and fighting terrorism particularly rooting out al-Shabbab.
