Donors and conflict parties to discuss Sudan peace needs

KHARTOUM, Oct 01, 2003 (dpa) — A committee comprising representatives of the Sudanese government, rebels and donor agencies will meet in Kenya in mid-October to discuss peace requirements in southern Sudan once a peace deal is signed, a senior government official said Wednesday.

Hassan Gadelkherim, Undersecretary at the Ministry of International Cooperation, was quoted by the official Sudan News Agency as saying parties to the conflict would issue a joint request to donor countries and agencies to help support peace projects.

A Mechanism of Joint Planning was established in an agreement signed between the government and rebel Sudan Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA) last May.

The official did not state the type of the projects to be discussed, only that these would aim at eventually repatriating internally displaced people to South Sudan.