The opening session of the IGAD Summit of Heads of State and Government was held on Thursday afternoon in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
Participants included the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and other regional leaders and officials.
Leaders of the South Sudanese factions SPLM-Juba, SPLM-IO and SPLM-G10 were also present, including Salva Kiir, Barnaba Marial, Nhial Deng, Riek Machar, Dhieu Mathok, Deng Alor and John Luk.
The representative of the United States Ambassador Donald Booth was also present as well as other diplomats and officials.