Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed made an official visit to Port Sudan, the provisional administrative capital of Sudan since the outbreak of war on April 15th, 2023. It meant the first visit to any area of the conflict by a head of state or government. Abiy Ahmed’s office said the visit was “the latest step in Abiy Ahmed’s commitment to finding sustainable solutions for stability” in Sudan.
No head of state or government of another country had landed there since the beginning of the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces, headed by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, paramilitaries led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
In his one-day visit to the port city of Port Sudan, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed conferred on the matter with General al-Burhan—who heads the country’s Sovereign Council.
That the relations remain close was reinforced by a statement by the Sudanese Sovereignty Council. Abiy Ahmed went on to propagate a message of solidarity to the Sudanese people, hoping to forever rid Addis Ababa of Khartoum’s accusations of supplying the RSF. Ethiopia had similarly allegedly written off the conflict as Sudan opportunistically attempting to secure an armed incursion into the disputed border region, al-Fashaga. Addis Ababa denied that its army was involved and said the incursions had been made by a local militia.
The visit seems to have dispelled some of the tensions. Sudan recognized Ethiopia’s “good intentions towards Khartoum.” Abiy Ahmed said, “This war will end, and the relations between our two countries will remain strong.” Reiterating the solution to the dispute that must be led by the Sudanese, the Ethiopian Prime Minister implored the warring parties to resume their talks in Jeddah.
This comes as a result of heightened mediation efforts geared towards solving the crisis in Sudan. Last weekend, Cairo witnessed a meeting of various forces and civil parties in order to unify the stance and end the war. On Monday, the Deputy Saudi Foreign Minister visited Port Sudan to discuss the possibility of resuming peace talks in Jeddah.
Thus far, all these attempts at mediation, including those that are coordinated between Saudi Arabia and the United States, have been in vein. Also on July 10, the African Union’s headquarters in Addis Ababa is the site of an extraordinary summit on Sudan, with the aim of securing an elusive ceasefire.