Australian minister meets Sudanese first vice-president

Nov 23, 2005 (CANBERRA) — Australian Defence Minister Robert Hill met with Lt-Gen Salva Kiir, Sudanese First Vice -President and president of the Government of Southern Sudan, during a visit to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum.

Senator Hill said Lt Gen Kiir thanked Australia for the help it had given both in aid and in providing refuge to significant numbers of his countrymen and women. He also thanked Australia for its contribution to the United Nations mission (UNMIS), which is supporting the implementation of the peace agreement.

“Lt-Gen Kiir indicated to me that the South was committed to working positively under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement towards the good of a unified and peaceful Sudan,” Senator Hill said.

According to the Australian Department of Defence website Kiir “also said a unified Sudan required significant development of the South in both economic and social infrastructure. He hoped Australia would help in that development, and that mutually beneficial business links could be developed.”

Defence Minister Robert Hill visited members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) contingent in Khartoum, praising the valuable work done by personnel serving in Sudan on Operation Azure.

Hill also met the special representative of the UN secretary-general and was briefed at the United Nations mission (UNMIS) headquarters on progress of the mission.

(ST)