The IGAD Executive Secretary H.E. Amb (Eng.) Mahboub Maalim received and conferred with the newly appointed Swedish Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Ambassador Urban Andersson and the Swedish Ambassador to Ethiopia Ambassador Jan Sadek on 11 November 2016 at the IGAD premises in Addis Ababa.

Amb. Maalm welcomed the officials and expressed his deep appreciation for the long-standing and strong partnership that exists between IGAD and the Government of Sweden.

The officials on their part expressed the continued interest of the Government of Sweden on peace and security developments in the Horn of Africa region, and keen support towards the efforts of IGAD in that respect. The discussions focused on the progress and challenges of the peace process in South Sudan and current political and security developments in  Somalia.