ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government on Monday welcomed the news that the United States government has lifted the economic sanctions that were imposed on Ethiopia's neighboring country Sudan.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a statement issued on Monday, indicated that it has long been apparent that the sanctions have caused unnecessary and considerable problems to the Sudanese people, limiting the country's developmental progress.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia welcomes the news that the U.S. Government has lifted the economic sanctions that were imposed on the Sudan twenty years ago," the ministry indicated. "The removal will be welcomed both in the Sudan and in the region as a step that will support and encourage further regional development."
"Sudan is more than a neighbor; we have a great deal in common with our strategic relationship built on close people-to-people relations," the statement added.
The statement further indicated that Ethiopia congratulated the government of the Sudan for a decision that underlines the efforts Sudan has made in recent years to bring an end to hostilities in the country, to expand humanitarian access and to cooperate in counter-terrorism activities among others.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn has recently paid a working visit to Sudan. Desalegn, during his visit back in August, discussed with Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and other Sudanese officials on ways of strengthening ties between the two neighboring countries.
