Blinken and Sudanese Prime Minister discuss peace process, GERD in call

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during the release of the "2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" at the State Department in Washington, DC, U.S., March 30, 2021. Mandel Ngan/Pool via REUTERS

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on Monday with Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on efforts to advance the peace process and promote political reforms, the State Department said in a statement.

The two also discussed negotiations related to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and the need to lower tensions between Sudan and Ethiopia, according to the statement.

FILE PHOTO: Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and German Chancellor Angela Merkel (not pictured) address the media at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, February 14, 2020. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke/File Photo

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Tim Ahmann)