Sudan and Ethiopia on Tuesday reaffirmed their determination to elevate the existing bilateral ties between the two countries.

This came at joint press conference following a closed-door meeting between the Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Al-Bashir, who is on a three-day visit to Addis Ababa, said they agreed to forge closer ties in the political, economic, social and cultural fields.

For his part, Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, said that the two countries agreed to establish very soon a free economic zone.

"A new railway line will also be built between the two countries," he was quoted as saying.

The two countries also commended the existing cooperation between them on equitable use of the waters of the Nile and the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Photo: Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn and Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir hold talks in Addis Ababa. (Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs)