US envoy starts visit in Sudan

June 9, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Andrew Natsios, the special envoy of U.S. President George W. Bush, arrived in Khartoum on Monday on a seven-day visit in Sudan, Sudanese official news agency SUNA reported.

Shortly after his arrival, the U.S. envoy left Sudanese capital for the western Sudanese region of Darfur where he will hold meetings with local government officials and leaders of the rebel movements to get acquainted with the situation there, said the report.

After his visit in Darfur, the U.S. envoy will then head for South Sudan for meetings with officials there, including Sudanese First Vice-President and President of the southern Sudanese government Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Back in Khartoum, Natsios is to have meetings with Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, Senior Assistant to the Sudanese President and Chairman of the Darfur Transitional Regional Authority Mini Arkou Minawi and Foreign Minister Lam Akol.

The visit of the U.S. diplomat coincides with a tour of UN Special Envoy Jan Eliasson and African Union Special Envoy Salim Ahmed Salim in this country.

An international meeting on Darfur is to be held in the Libyan capital Tripoli on July 15 and 16 under the joint AU-UN chairmanship.

(Xinhua)