Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has received a warm welcome on his arrival in neighboring Ethiopia for a two-day state visit. VOA’s Peter Heinlein in Addis Ababa reports Ethiopian and other African officials greeted Mr. Bashir with full honors, while most western diplomats are boycotting the event.
Reporters were kept away from airport ceremonies where Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi welcomed Mr. Bashir for a meeting of the Ethiopia-Sudan High Level Joint Commission.
Sudan and Ethiopia share a 3,000 kilometer long border, and the two delegations are discussing a variety of political, security and economic issues.
An unofficial count showed about 20 of the more than 50 African ambassadors in Addis Ababa showed up for the welcome ceremonies, along with envoys from China, North Korea, Cuba and Venezuela. But the United States, the European Union and most other countries boycotted the event. The boycott extends to a lavish state dinner hosted by Ethiopia’s president… [read more]
Aid money being put to good use?!