China renews commitment to support Darfur peace process
May 6, 2008 (OSLO) – China has reaffirmed its commitment to exert efforts to end Darfur crisis and to provide the necessary humanitarian assistance as well as its participation in the hybrid peacekeeping mission there.
Chinese ambassador to Norway Gao Jian read a message in donor conference in Oslo on behalf of the Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi, on Tuesday.
Goa said that China has done its utmost to seek an appropriate solution to the Darfur issue which includes actively participating in the peace-keeping operation in the region.
“We have committed ourselves of sending a 315-man engineering unit. So far, the first team of 143 engineers has already been dispatched to Darfur and undertaking its jobs now,” the ambassador said.
He further said that China has offered 80 million RMB of humanitarian assistance to the region and an additional 1.8 million U.S. dollars to the AU peace-keeping mission. He added that Beijing recently donated 500,000 U.S. dollars to finance the joint mediation of the AU and the UN special envoys
China is very much concerned about the lacking of progress in the political process and “we call for the international community to exert positive influence urging the opposition parties in the Darfur region to return to the negotiation table at an earlier date”, Gao said.
The two-day Sudan Consortium Conference will review progress on the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The meeting is also expected to generate new pledges of aid and donations to support reconstruction and further development in Sudan, the ministry said in a statement.
(ST)