Egypt, Ethiopia for restoring peace to Somalia

Egypt and Ethiopia on Tuesday asserted their determination to coordinate efforts in order to restore peace to Somalia, which is continuing to witness armed conflicts.

An Egyptian diplomatic source was quoted as saying that the Egyptian and Ethiopian delegations held preliminary consultations concerning the issue of the Nile and the dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, with the objective of supporting a peace plan advocated by the Organization of African Unity providing for the withdrawal of Eritrea's forces from lands under dispute between the two countries.

Ethiopia was authorized by the OAU and by the Inter-Government Authority on Development (IGAD), which comprises Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda and Sudan, to make attempts to find a peaceful settlement to the Somali conflict.

The Egyptian delegation arrived in Addis Ababa, led by the deputy foreign minister in charge of African affairs, Ibrahim Hassan, on Sunday and discussed with the Ethiopians issues pertaining to national security interests of concern to the two countries.