Ethiopia has bought 60 Russian-made tanks from Yemen at a cost of over $24-million dollars, a privately-owned weekly newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The news came a day after Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh concluded a three-day official visit to Ethiopia and agreed to closer cooperation in the fight against terrorism in the region.
Yemen, which concluded trilateral cooperation agreements with Ethiopia and Sudan in October, ”procured 300 tanks from Russia and sold 60 of them to Ethiopia,” The Reporter disclosed.
”The agreement was signed early this year between the two countries when the high-level Ethiopian delegation led by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi visited Yemen,” the weekly reported quoting diplomatic sources.
A joint communique issued on Tuesday night at the conclusion of the Yemeni leader’s first official visit to Ethiopia stated that the two sides expressed satisfaction with the progress made in bilateral cooperation as well as trilateral cooperation between Ethiopia, Yemen and Sudan.
”The two leaders expressed their conviction that the promotion of closer relations between the three countries would have a vital contribution to the well-being of their peoples and peace, security and stability in the region,” according to the statement.
On the peace process in the Sudan, the two leaders ”reiterated their solidarity with the people of the Sudan as they continue to complete the process of national reconciliation.” – Sapa-DPA