ADDIS ABABA, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat, and the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Tuesday urged Sudanese parties to redouble efforts in order to overcome existing differences.
The joint call came following the two officials' discussion on the current situation in Sudan in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Tuesday, the AU said in a statement.
Mahamat and Ahmed "strongly encouraged the national actors in Sudan to redouble their efforts to overcome their differences in a spirit of understanding and mutual concessions and to speed up the conclusion of the political agreement which is well within their reach, seizing this opportune time and critical moment without any delays," an AU statement read.
They also "welcomed the significant progress made in the negotiations between the Sudanese parties in conformity with the guidance given by the African Union Peace and Security Council and the Extra-Ordinary Meeting of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Council of Ministers."
The Ethiopian Prime Minister and Chairperson of the 55-member pan African bloc further "commended international partners for their constructive support of the African mediation process and called upon them to reinforce their support during this critical juncture of the negotiation process in the Sudan."
The two officials also "congratulated" their respective Special Envoys, Ambassador Mohamoud Dirir and Hacen El Lebatt respectively, "on the excellent work accomplished, despite the difficult circumstances.
They also commended the Sudanese people and all the national political and social actors for their "positive interaction with the African mediation undertaken collectively by their respective Special Envoys."
Noting the need for a "Sudanese-owned process," they also reiterated AU's continued call to foreign powers to refrain from any interference that would affect the ongoing peace process in the country.
The two officials "reemphasized the need for a Sudanese-owned process, free from any external interference and in full respect of the sovereignty and the will of the Sudanese people in the pursuit of a political agreement," the statement read.
