South Africa and Ethiopian ministers of foreign affairs launch joint commission

By SSI staff writer

PRETORIA, South Africa- South African Foreign Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma and her Ethiopian counterpart, Minister Seyoum Mesfin, launched the inaugural session of the South Africa-Ethiopia Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) at the Diplomatic Guesthouse in Pretoria on Tuesday, 18 March 2008.
The launch of the JMC comes within the context of South Africa’s commitment to strengthen bilateral political, economic and trade relations with Ethiopia, and it will serve as the mechanism for monitoring and implementing decisions taken by the two countries on areas of co-operation.

The JMC was preceded by a meeting of senior officials from both South Africa and Ethiopia, in which discussions took place on areas of co-operation on Monday,.
Discussions between Minister Dlamini Zuma Seyoum Mesfin on Tuesday included, among others, the status of South Africa-Ethiopia bilateral relations; the Eritrea-Ethiopia border dispute; the Somali conflict; and other issues of mutual interest.

In a press briefing, Minister Seyoum Mesfin said Ethiopia is determined to solve its border dispute with Eritrea peacefully.
“We will continue to exert all our efforts to settle the dispute with Eritrea by peaceful means,” the Ethiopian minister told journalists after talks with his South African counterpart Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma in Pretoria.
“We have learnt the hard way that disputes, be they over borders or other issues, between states cannot be resolved by war and conflict. The only way is by peaceful, diplomatic means,” said Mr. Mesfin
Mesfin’s remarks came as UN peacekeepers quit Eritrea having been starved of fuel by the authorities in Asmara.