ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn left here on Tuesday for a three-day official state visit to Ethiopia's neighboring country Sudan.
Desalegn, during his visit to Sudan starting from Tuesday, is expected to discuss bilateral and regional issues with Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on ways of strengthening ties between the two neighboring countries, according to the Ethiopian Foreign Affairs Ministry.
The prime minister is also expected to hold talks with Sudan's First Vice-President and Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Salih. He will then deliver a lecture in Sudan's capital Khartoum on Thursday on topics pertaining the Horn of Africa region state of affairs, it was indicated.
Desalegn is also expected to attend a cultural display event in Sudan which would be followed by a visit to Sudan's major industrial installations.
The partnership among the two neighboring countries, both the people to people relations and state level partnership, is among the oldest in the horn of African region. The Sudanese-Ethiopian relations have recently witnessed rapid development in the political, economic, cultural and military fields.
The two countries also share the Nile river, in which Ethiopia is presently building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which will be regarded as Africa's largest dam upon completion with a total volume of 74,000 million cubic meters.
Ethiopia and Sudan have signed a memorandum of understanding in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa in October last year to enhance joint security and military cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
The two countries have also signed various cooperation agreements earlier this year with an aim of promoting economic relations and strengthening overall ties.
