Peace negotiators reportedly agree on central bank, currency issues

Excerpt from report by Al-Samani Iwadallah: “Taha and Garang hold three meetings on wealth issue. Dr Amin: The two sides resolve central bank and currency issues”; published by Sudanese newspaper Al-Anba on 15 December 2003

The first vice-president, Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha, and the leader of the [Sudanese People’s] Liberation Movement [SPLM], Dr John Garang, yesterday resumed their talks in three meetings which focused on wealth sharing in full detail, but they did not arrive at specific points on the matter.

The wealth sharing issue is considered by observers as the main contentious point, as three experts from the IMF and the World Bank are meeting the two sides committees.

Despite the participation of economic experts in the second meeting, held yesterday afternoon, reports from the negotiation venue in Naivasha [Kenya] had not confirmed or denied any progress made towards overcoming the matter.

A member of the government negotiating delegation, Dr Amin Hasan Umar, told Al-Anba that Mr Taha and Dr Garang yesterday held three meetings on the wealth sharing issue in the presence of economic experts from the two sides. He said the two leaders had not yet gone into issues on power sharing and the three [disputed] regions.

Amin revealed that the two sides had overcome the central bank and the currency issues.

BBC Monitoring Middle East