First Vice-President Salva Kiir to leave for Cairo on 1st September

Text of report in English by Sudanese news agency Suna website, BBC Monitoring Middle East.

Aug 31, 2005 (Khartoum) — The first vice-president, [Lt-]Gen Salva Kiir, is due to visit Cairo on Thursday [1 September] to hold talks with the president of Egypt, Husni Mubarak, said the foreign minister, Dr Mustafa Uthman Isma’il. He said that Kiir’s one-day visit to Cairo is the first one of him abroad since his assumption to the position of the first vice -president.

Dr Isma’il said that Kiir will also meet in Cairo with the Egyptian prime minister and the secretary-general of the Arab League. He indicated that the first vice-president will acquaint the Egyptian leadership with the peace process in Sudan, adding that the visit comes in [the] framework of the ongoing efforts to enhance further the good relations between Egypt and Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).

Dr Isma’il referred to the SPLM concern with the role of Egypt regarding the peace and development in south Sudan. He said that Kiir’s meetings with senior officials in Cairo provide a good opportunity to discuss the contribution of Egypt to establishment of development projects in the southern states.

The first vice-president will be accompanied during his visit to Cairo with the foreign minister, Dr Mustafa Uthman Isma’il, and a number of the SPLM leading figures, including Dr Mansur Khalid, Pagan Amum and Yasir Arman.