EU pledges assistance to Sudan upon signing peace agreement

KHARTOUM, Dec 18 (AFP) — The European Union will fully normalise ties with Sudan and resume development cooperation when a peace agreement is signed between the government and rebels in the south, an EU delegation said Thursday.

The EU delegation, led by Italian foreign ministry official Alfredo Mantica, made the pledge Thursday at the end of two days of talks with Sudanese officials as part of the EU-Sudan political dialogue that resumed in 1999.

Mantica, quoting a joint statement, told a press conference that both sides reviewed how much progress the Sudanese government has made in 2003 on efforts to end the civil war and further democratisation, freedoms and human rights.

The Sudanese government and the southern rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) have made dramatic progress toward ending a 20-year civil war in the south, and a final peace deal is expected by the end of the year.

Khartoum reiterated its “full” commitment to make further progress and expressed its readiness to take a number of substantial steps in fields which concern the European Union, the communique said.

The 25-member bloc pledged to “fully normalise relations with Sudan and resume development cooperation, including resettlement, rehabilitation, reconstruction and development for the whole of the Sudan” when a peace agreement is signed.

The delegation voiced the European Union’s “deep” concern over violence in west Sudan’s Darfur region, urging both the government and rebel movement to cooperate with the Chadian government and to resume negotiations for a peaceful settlement.

It also urged both sides to ensure the protection of civilians and to allow unimpeded humanitarian access to the needy in the Darfur region.

A rebellion erupted in the region in February amid demands for an end to the region’s neglect by the central government. UN officials estimate 3,000 people have died and more than 500,000 have been displaced.

The rebellion in the west is not connected to that in the south, the SPLA says.