Sudan Consortium to kick off next May in Paris

By James Gatdet Dak

March 6, 2008 (JUBA) – The Sudan Consortium conference which brings together both the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan, donor countries, the World Bank and United Nations agencies is expected to take place in the first week of May in Paris, France.

This will be the third Consortium conference since the signing of the January 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The Forum was established to address a wide range of issues in the context of the CPA, particularly on peace and development programmes in the Sudan.

In a preparatory meeting on Thursday in Juba, chaired by the Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), Riek Machar Teny, relevant institutions of the Government discussed the proposed Consortium agenda.

The agenda to be discussed in plenary during the conference include CPA implementation, review of the past performances of both the Government of National Unity and the Government of Southern Sudan, national Five Year Strategic Plan, medium term framework, Public Finance and Public Services.

The meeting also revealed that there will be parallel technical sessions that will discuss issues related to peace building, community driven development, private sector development and review of the role and contribution of Multi-donor Groups (MDGs) in the reconstruction efforts in the country.

The Government of Southern Sudan’s Vice President urged the relevant institutions to endorse the GoSS’ selected priorities for the years 2008 – 2011 and to finalize policy papers for presentation to the Consortium.

Issues related to security, good governance, private sector development and improving the quality of life of the poor were highlighted to be among key development criteria.

The meeting also acknowledged that a joint position is required between the Government of National Unity (GoNU) and the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) on national programmes and need to agree on how the CPA progress report will be handled or harmonized.

The meeting resolved to establish a technical committee to be chaired by the Minister of Regional Cooperation, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, as a focal point to make the necessary preparations for the Consortium.

(ST)