Ethiopian Minister Andargachew leaves for South Sudan to attain session on peace process

Ethiopia's newly elected Foreign Minister Gedu Andargachew left here on May 7 to South Sudan’s capital, Juba to chair the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Council of Ministers' Extraordinary Session on South Sudan's peace process.

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), in a statement issued on May 7, said that Andargachew, who was appointed Ethiopia's FM last month and eventually assumed the rotating chairmanship of the IGAD Council of Ministers, opened the 67th extraordinary session of the IGAD Council of Ministers, which kicked off Tuesday afternoon in Juba.

The ministerial meeting mainly aimed at taking stock of the progress made in the implementation of the Revitalized Peace Agreement and the challenges encountered in meeting some of the key timelines and benchmarks, MoFA said in a statement on Tuesday. The Ethiopian foreign minister stressed during the opening session on "the importance of developing a clear roadmap and implementation schedules for the pending tasks," as reported by Xinhua.

"Andargachew commended the parties for their commitment to reach a consensus in extending the pre-transitional period for six months to allow for the full implementation of critical pending tasks," the statement read. Andargachew also commended the Transitional Government of National Unity for its pledges to commit 100 million U.S. dollars to expedite the implementation of the pending tasks, which he said, "would encourage regional and international partners to provide support to this process."

Ethiopia's foreign minister expressed his hope that the ministerial meeting would bring consensus "on the right course of action to help the process move forward."

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