Foreign Minister, Dr. Tedros Adhanom held talks on Wednesday 31July, 2013 with the European Union's Special Representative for Sudan, Mrs. Rosalind Marsden.

The discussions cover recent developments between Sudan and South Sudan including the work of the recently established Ad-hoc Investigations Mechanism (AIM).

Mrs. Marsden expressed her appreciation of Ethiopia's contributions to the peace process between Sudan and South Sudan, highlighting the recent trip to Juba and Khartoum by Dr. Tedros and former President Thabo Mbeki as a sign of Ethiopia's proactive role in mediation.

She was pleased over the recent oil flow extension secured by Dr. Tedros and the AUHIP following their talks with President Omar Al-Bashir, emphasizing that any halt to the flow of oil would serve to jeopardy the already set agreements between both sides.

Dr. Tedros briefed Mrs. Marsden on the discussions with both President Al-Bashir and President Kiir in Khartoum and Juba.

The concerns of both sides, he believes, would be addressed by the AIM so long as it was supported and given adequate time to complete its investigations.

The hope is the result of an investigation from a neutral international body would carry more weight than the allegations they had been making against each other.

ERTA learned Prime Minister Hailemariam was also in frequent contact with both President Al-Bashir and President Kiir and actively encourages them to maintain regular communication.

Dr. Tedros said the close cooperation between the EU and Ethiopia over both Sudan and South Sudan, as well as over the region is showing positive outcomes.