Ethiopia, Sudan to cooperate on port service

January 04, 2020: Recently, few high-level officials from Ethiopia and Sudan countries met to discuss issues of port service and utilisation, comprising the Ethiopian minister of transport Dagmawit Moges and Sudan's undersecretary of the ministry of infrastructure Omar Ahmed Mohammed and director general of Sudanese Sea Ports Corporation Onour Mussa, reported Ethiopian News Agency.

The governments of Ethiopia and Sudan have emphasised the crucial significance of cooperation on port service and utilisation as landlocked Ethiopia aspires to enhance its access to ports.

As part of the countries' cooperation ambition on port service and utilisation, Sudan's Sea Port Corporation "will provide all the necessary support for Ethiopia to use the Ports of Sudan for its import-export commodities".

The Sudanese Sea Port Corporation is also expected to offer back-office for Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise (ESLSE), an Ethiopian government entity mandated to undertake shipping and logistics service - in order to facilitate the import of fertiliser which is expected to be delivered shortly, a report noted.  

During the meeting, high-level officials from Ethiopia and Sudan also "agreed to establish a technical committee to smooth the progress of the port service," the report added.

The agreement includes implementing the 2003 pledge by the government of Sudan to offer 875,000 square metre area of land close to Port Sudan for Ethiopian logistics service, it noted.