Sudan, Ethiopia agree to implement cooperation projects

Sudan and Ethiopia have agreed to implement cooperation projects, including establishment of economic zones and free markets between the two countries, official SUNA news agency reported Monday.

The joint technical economic committee between the two countries convened meetings in Port-Sudan city in eastern Sudan, where the two sides agreed on importance of facilitating flow of free and preferential trade between the two countries, the report said.

The two sides further agreed to facilitate customs procedures from one location, stressing the importance of establishing a joint force to combat smuggling on the border.

The two sides, meanwhile, reviewed how to issue certificates of origin for the moving commodities between the two countries, whether imported or exported, agreeing on importance of facilitating the movement of the citizens between the two countries, provided that it is to be government with organized procedures to control illegal migration.

Sudan's State Minister for Finance Abdul-Rahman Dirar, who chairs the Sudanese side to the meetings, described the meetings as important as they boost investment and facilitate trade between the two countries, according to the report.

He further noted that the banking facilitations would help in movement of capitals and banking transfers, disclosing that the members of the committee have agreed on importance of using the two countries' currencies in settling the financial and commercial transactions between them.

The meetings of the two countries' technical and economic committee are scheduled to conclude on Tuesday, after which the meetings of the joint higher committee are to begin, under chairmanship of Sudan's Vice-President and Ethiopia's Deputy Chairman of the council of ministers, to approve the recommendations of the technical committee.