MOGADISHU, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi (Farmajo) left the country on Thursday for Ethiopia to join other East African leaders to help shore up South Sudan peace process.

A statement from the presidency said Farmajo was due to attend an extra-ordinary Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) summit in Addis Ababa that will review the progress made in the South Sudan peace process.

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar arrived in Ethiopia on Wednesday for a meeting with South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, as part of efforts to try to broker a deal to end the nation's civil conflict.

Officials said the two leaders later held talks in Addis Ababa on Wednesday evening for the first time in two years. Details of the Wednesday meeting were not divulged.

IGAD is an eight-member economic bloc that brings together Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Uganda.