Norway to host Sudan donor conference in May
April 25, 2008 (OSLO) — Oslo will host a conference in May to generate pledges of support for the further reconstruction and development of southern Sudan, Norway announced today. The meeting was initially scheduled to be held in Paris.
The World Bank, the United Nations, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) organised the first international donor conference on Sudan in April 2005. On March 9-10, 2006, the second Sudan Consortium conference held in Paris.
The May 5-7 conference “will review progress on the implementation of the CPA in Sudan, and generate donor pledges to support the further reconstruction and development in Sudan,” Norway’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
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.
Also 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.
This third Consortium conference since the signing of the CPA was initially planned to be held in Paris. However the French government requested the organisers to support the cost of the meeting a matter that they failed to satisfy while the Norway proposed to assume it.
The conference is to take place halfway through an interim period following the CPA which runs until 2011.
“This is an important opportunity for the Sudan Government of National Unity, the Government of Southern Sudan and the international community to reconfirm their commitment to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement,” Norwegian Development Cooperation Minister Erik Solheim said.
High-level political participation from Sudan and international donors is expected at the conference, which will commence with a closed door preparation session.
(ST)