Issued by: Office of the Presidency
12 December 2000
JOINT STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT CARDOSO AND PRESIDENT MBEKI ON THE SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF THE PEACE ACCORD BETWEEN ERITREA AND ETHOPIA ON 12 DECEMBER 2000.
We congratulate President Isaias Afwerki of the State of Eritrea and President Meles Zenawi of the Republic of Ethiopia for successfully concluding a peace accord.
This peace accord is in the immediate and long-term interests of both countries, the region and the continent, and demonstrates the commitment of the two leaders and their countries to creating stability and security in the interests of the development of their people.
To this end, we pay tribute to President Bouteflika of Algeria, whose efforts, in his capacity as former Chairperson of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), facilitated the conclusion of the accord.
The news of the accord is heartening in the context of the ongoing efforts by the OAU in brokering peace on the continent, and especially the progress made with regard to bringing about peace between all the belligerents in the DRC and Burundi Conflicts. We believe furthermore, that the accord is evidence of the growing capacity and resolve as Africans to find solution to their own problems. We welcome the support given by the international community to these initiatives by Africans to build peace and stability on the continent.
We re-iterate the importance of peace and stability as a requirement for development and human progress. We thus continue to commit our countries, Brazil and South Africa, to working towards lasting peace in Africa and the world.
Enquiries: Nazeem Mahatey
09 55 9961 3785 (in Brazil until 16 December 2000)
Tasneem Carrim
Communications
The Presidency
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Pretoria
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